Run Away
by blackpearl.fantasy
Summary: PostAWE. Elizabeth can't live the rest of her life without freedom, and she refuses to wait. But she needs someone's help to find Will. While she's on her mission, she finds herself not being able to resist freedom, and running away. Sparrabeth.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything/anyone from Pirates, it's all Disney's... for now.

A/N: Hey everyone, I'm back :) I'd originally decided to take a longer break after "Under the Sails" but it was one of the worst ideas I'd ever come up with (for myself). So here I am starting another Sparrabeth fic... Hey do people make dedications for fanfictions? Hm, probably not, but (shrugs) this one is for Helen. :) AWE spoilers just in case, and pay no attention to the adorable (but not Sparrabeth) post-end credits scene. First chapters are always... not the best so bear w/ me plz, and this one's more like a (short) intro. Enjoy, don't forget to leave a review!

* * *

"_Yo ho, haul together. Hoist the colours high._" 

Elizabeth sang the familiar song softly as the broom moved over the cottage floor. She sighed, exhausted, and walked to the open door. She leaned against the door frame and looked out at the ocean.

_Shipwreck Island is _not_ where I've dreamed I'd end up... _No, it definitely wasn't where she'd imagined she would spend the rest of her life. She couldn't even envision spending the next few months there, let alone ten years.

_I've always been a dreamer, _she thought bitterly. _And here's where it's gotten me_. This wasn't her dream, this wasn't the fairy tale that had entertained her for her entire childhood. She hadn't imagined she would become a pirate, and becoming a _Pirate King_... it was completely unreal. Yet there she stood with Sao Feng's Piece of Eight--_her_ Piece of Eight.

Perhaps she had been a pirate all along, inside. A rebel. But she'd always dreamed of just having _one_ pirate adventure. And marrying a man she truly loved. And living happily ever after...

_I've married the man I love, that's quite lucky. _She told herself she should stop dreaming, that it would do her no good. She'd had more than one adventure, had enough of staring out across the open sea, and it was time to settle down, and wait for her husband, and start looking at what was real. But it wasn't enough. She needed something more--she needed the adventure, the freedom. And she knew she could never stay waiting for ten years--she knew she couldn't be tied down, no matter how much she loved him.

She remembered waking up every morning in Port Royal, and opening the balcony doors while she was still in her nightgown, and staring out at that mesmerizing, alluring sea... and watching the seagulls flapping their wings in the air. She remembered thinking how lucky they were, to be out in the open, to be able to roam, and go wherever they wanted, and fly free... And there were pigeons, too, yet somehow the pigeons always came back.

_"Why do they always come back?" she wondered aloud, and a maid coming in to help her dress walked to her and smiled at the pigeons wistfully. "They can go wherever they want, whenever they want, so why do they come back?"_

_"Because they are free," said the maid. "_Because_ they can go wherever they want. If you lock them in a cage they will want to fly away, because you never know you have something until it's gone."_

Elizabeth brushed a tear from her eye. She had let herself out of her cage, and she had made her own choices and spoken for herself, no matter the consequences it had been the best time of her life. _And I'm back in a cage. _

She felt the sudden urge to run away, to abandon this place, to go somewhere far and dangerous, and fly free. But she knew once she got there, it would be too much to bear without Will. It had only been a few days since she had watched the _Flying Dutchman_ and its captain vanish with the sunset, but his absence tore through her heart every second she breathed. If only she really could run away... If only she could find something to take her mind away from the hole inside her, something or someone that would let her fly free...

Someone she could turn to... someone who would unlock the cage, someone who would patch up the hole, perhaps even take her to Will... simply for her...

She dropped the broom and walked to the old table standing in the middle of the room and picked up the small black chest that sat on it. She leaned over and kissed it gently, then looked around for a place to keep it. There was nowhere.

Elizabeth rummaged through the pile of things that the residents of Shipwreck Island had generously given their king, and found a trunk. She hurriedly tossed in a few extra pieces of clothing for emergencies, grabbed her weapons for protection and a small pouch of money, and finally placed the Dead Man's Chest carefully in the trunk. She snapped the trunk shut, donned a hat, and stepped outside onto the cliff overlooking the open sea.

She refused to be locked in a cage, she was going to let herself fly again... and the prospect of it dulled the feeling of pain for a moment. She would see Will, before the end of ten years... it didn't matter what the curse said, she would see him, she would not sit and wait.

She made her way to the shore, ready to embrace the feeling of the sea, ready to find that someone...


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you so much for the incredible reviews! I apologize for updating so late, I wasn't home over the long weekend. :(

Disclaimer: If I owned PotC, I would _so_ not be here writing fanfiction. Not that there's anything wrong with writing fanfiction hehe.

* * *

Captain Jack Sparrow sat alone in his 'ship' somewhat contentedly, sailing toward the setting sun. He had finished the first bottle of rum, and reached out for the next one, but decided that he should save the rum as often as possible so he had enough to last the journey to the next port, wherever that would be. 

He stroked the charts thoughtfully, then pulled out his compass and opened it. The red arrow spun so fast it was only a blur, and didn't stop.

"I _know_ what I want!" he said, slightly annoyed. He closed the compass and thought hard. _Fountain of Youth. Fountain of Youth. Fountain of Youth! What I want most in the world is--_his thoughts changed abruptly, and he found himself shocked at what he had thought.

"Why in the bloody world would I think of... _her_?" he muttered, seriously frustrated with himself now. He told himself he did not want her, that she was married, that she was definitely going to be waiting on that island for ten years anyways, but a little part of his mind drifted away, and thought of seeing her again, and holding her and stroking her hair, and kissing every part of her... And telling her he had forgiven her...

He shook himself out of those thoughts angrily and looked determinedly at the charts. Then he opened the compass again. The red arrow was pointing resolutely in one direction, and that was the way from which he came.

"I don't want bloody Elizabeth!" he shouted, scaring away a bird that had perched on the side of the dinghy. He closed the compass, shook it, and opened it again. The arrow didn't move.

He sighed and decided to go against his will and against the wind. Luckily there was a pair of oars in the dinghy, and he turned around and started rowing toward Tortuga.

* * *

Elizabeth stood on the beach and watched the water rushing up to meet her. She couldn't remember how long she just stood there, watching the waves flow and ebb. Finally she picked up the trunk and walked along the shoreline in her waterlogged boots. 

She reached Shipwreck City not long afterward and found herself in luck. A ship had been meant to leave for Tortuga a while ago, but had been delayed when the captain got drunk in a tavern. She found him swaying on deck and gave him some small gold coins.

"Will that be enough to buy passage to Tortuga?" she asked.

"Aye, that'd be enough, lass," said the captain happily.

By nightfall the ship had set sail. Elizabeth set her trunk in her cabin and walked onto deck, watching the lights of Shipwreck City grow smaller, until they were just a tiny golden dot, and then not even that. She went below deck and sat on the bed with her head in her hands.

_Oh no, what have I done?! Left the house, took the Chest with me to board a ship to go to Tortuga... Why've I done this? It was a terrible decision, and what if someone tries to stab the heart? What if Jack refuses to help me? What if I never find him at all? _

A thousand thoughts ran through her mind. She had known she would feel bad after she left, but she couldn't resist the thought of being away, with at least a little distraction from the burden... But she wasn't really away, was she? She had felt the need to bring the Chest with her, so that she would be able to do something to be protecting it. Yet, as she thought about it, it didn't seem that it was safe on a pirate ship bound for a pirate town, full of drunken and wild men looking for all kinds of valuable things... She had sworn to keep it safe.

She felt like she was breaking a promise already.

* * *

Jack arrived in Tortuga in a few days. He had drained his supply of rum, so the first thing he did was find a seat in a crowded tavern and buy a bottle. 

_It's good to know there are some things in the world worth the effort_, he told himself, thinking annoyedly of the direction the compass had pointed. He took a swig of rum and suddenly tried convinced himself that the compass had pointed to Tortuga because of the taverns, and the wenches. Not because she would be there. Yet strangely, though his quest to find the Fountain of Youth had been delayed, he started to deny that, and he didn't feel altogether angry at having admitted he wanted her.

And again he could envision himself with his arms wrapped around her and his lips on hers, her hair brushing his face in the wind that blew over the deck of the _Black Pearl_... Yes, he told himself, he would get the _Pearl_ back one day.

Then he went back to thinking about her, though he knew it was useless, that she had devoted the rest of her life to waiting to be part of the couple again, she and her dearly beloved--both of whose lives he had saved that day. He took another swig of rum--and all of a sudden she was there, standing in front of him, and she was real.

"Ah," he said, surprised. "May I inquire as to why you aren't waiting for dear William, luv?"

"I came to find you," she said, her voice cool and careful, her hand gripping the trunk. "I need your help."

"And what makes ye think I will help you?" asked Jack casually, swallowing more rum and feeling his luck had definitely changed.

"Jack," Elizabeth said with a mixture of awkwardness, persuasion, and pleading, sitting down at the table in an empty chair. "I know you've already helped me before in the past. And I know you've saved my life at least twice, and that the relationship between us hasn't been the best..." She paused a little before continuing, "but I know you're a good man. And--and I trust you. Please. I'll do something for you in return. Anything." Her voice was becoming helpless.

"I'm still thinking 'bout it," said Jack.

"Listen," said Elizabeth, "I can't stay on that wretched island for ten years. I _cannot_! And I can't stand not seeing Will... I have to find him! I can't just wait, it's a living Hell!" She did not know why, but she felt her eyes blurring with tears. It was too much... too much to bear, and she was tired of telling herself she had to stay strong.

She wiped her eyes and looked at Jack desperately.

"I had to get away, I couldn't live there--I couldn't be tied down like that. Please, please say you'll help me find him. Jack, please. For me."

"We have a deal," said Jack at last, and she stared at him with wide, sparkling eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered. "I knew you were a good man. You're a savior."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you, reviewers!

Disclaimer: I do in fact own PotC, sometimes, in my beautiful dreams... :)

* * *

Jack and Elizabeth walked out of the tavern and onto the busy streets of Tortuga. 

"There is a--" Jack paused "--_slight_ problem about the supposed accord of my helping you to sail to World's End to find your beloved."

"What is it?" asked Elizabeth. Strangely, she wasn't worried, felt so peaceful and at rest when she knew that he would help her.

"I, well, I--don't have a ship."

Elizabeth stopped to stare at him, all her calm washed away.

"I assure you," said Jack quickly. "That it was due to an unfortunate situation caused by someone who wanted my ship and commandeered it while I was away and the man in charge was drunk and asleep, and not because I would willingly let said someone take it away."

"But Jack," said Elizabeth, "we can't go to the end of the world without a ship."

"Ah. Well said someone who commandeered me ship while I was away and the man in charge was drunk and asleep left me a rather nice little dinghy that can possibly fit another person along with me rum."

"That's ridiculous!" exclaimed Elizabeth. "We can't--"

"Come come, luv. Do be reasonable. It's not all _that_ small, really. You have your space, I have mine, we have plenty of rum in-between and you'll be perfectly happy when we reach our destination and your dearly beloved, savvy?"

"No," said Elizabeth firmly.

"This is rather harder than I thought," muttered Jack.

"Assuming I do agree to your suggestion, _Captain_ Sparrow," she continued, "The dinghy will never survive the waterfall, and we'll never be able to come back!"

"You can be with your dear William the entire time," said Jack grandly, then added hurriedly, "But I would have to be there as well. No, you're right, it would never work."

"You're Captain Jack Sparrow!" said Elizabeth impatiently. "Now is the time for another amazing adventure! At least you could get a ship!"

"Good point, I _am_ Captain Jack Sparrow," said Jack. "We sail tomorrow right after Master Gibbs has found us a crew. What say you?"

"All right."

"Good. Now may I present, one of the finest inns in Tortuga." He gestured to the building they had coincidentally stopped at.

"I'm not sharing a room with you, if that's what you're suggesting." Elizabeth said suddenly.

"I didn't think so," said Jack, slightly amused. "But you _are_ paying for your own, darling."

* * *

Jack had run to find Gibbs after Elizabeth walked into the inn, and ordered him to gather a crew. It hadn't taken too long to find some pirates to sail with them, but Jack could not seem to find a ship in the harbor as beautiful or fast-looking as the _Pearl_. Finally he settled on one called the _Queen_ that was owned by an old man so frail Jack highly doubted if he had stepped on a ship his entire life. The old man's crew were scattered all over town, apparently, and Jack knocked the man unconscious, stuffed him in a closet, and closed the door tightly, hoping he wouldn't wake up soon. 

By the time the sun had risen, Jack had spent the entire sleepless night looking over his ship (or rather, his _temporary _ship, as he liked to think) with displeasure, thinking that the only thing he had found about it that was better than the _Pearl _was that it seemed incredibly strong, and he put a little faith in it that it might survive the waterfall.

_Oh, bugger, what are you thinking?! How can anything survive that waterfall? _

He sighed with annoyance and decided to focus on that point later. Instead, now he made sure the crew was on board and that everything they needed for the journey was in the hold.

He wondered where Elizabeth would sleep.

_Knowing her_, he thought, _she probably wouldn't mind being with the crew. _But then he remembered the conversation they had had, and all of a sudden it seemed so long ago…

_"After all, we are very much alike, you and I. I and you. Us." _

_"Oh, except for a sense of honor, and decency, and—and a moral center… and personal hygiene." _

He decided that perhaps she wouldn't find it very… _decent_ (it was probably the first time he had properly thought about that word) to sleep with the crew. And the thought of Elizabeth with a room full of… _other_ men, he did not find very pleasing. She would have a cabin.

But his thoughts passed along this subject easily, and to that conversation.

_"One day, you won't be able to resist. You're going to want to know what it tastes like."_

_"I do want to know what it tastes like," he said, intrigued._

Maybe she hadn't meant being "courageous" and all the other things she had said...

What did it matter? He could give it a try. The whelp wasn't around, and she was so desperate for his help… She wanted freedom, and she knew he could give it to her. There was the thought lodged in his head, and it wouldn't come loose, that it could have worked between them, that it _was_ possible that she would fall in love with a dishonest, cheating pirate. Just not probable.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you for the reviews!!

Disclaimer: PotC belongs to Disney.

* * *

Elizabeth woke early in the morning. There was a strange feeling in her, as if she had crossed a forbidden boundary, and she felt so... _free_, in a way, and beyond the boundary there were a thousand possibilities for her... 

She dressed herself quickly, arranged her hair in a long braid that hung down her back, and sad down in an armchair, pulling her trunk toward her. The latch fell open easily when she nudged it, and she pulled out the Chest. She could hear the beating, the steady unending rhythm, and suddenly found herself wishing that she hadn't brought it along with her. She was shocked that she felt that way.

_It's because I want it to be in a safer place_, she told herself firmly, _Somewhere more protected, far away from where I am..._

She stopped, frowning and a little annoyed with herself, and sat huddled in the chair, hugging the Chest to herself tightly.

There was knock at the door, and she jumped, caught the chest just before it hit the floor, and stuffed it back in her trunk.

"Elizabeth?" said a voice just outside the door. "Are you... awake?"

"Yes," said Elizabeth breathlessly, closing the trunk and rushing to the door.

It was Jack. He gave her an odd look, and she thought she must look strange, holding the trunk tightly and out of breath.

"I have gotten us a ship and a crew," announced Jack. "When you are ready, we will set sail."

"I'm ready," said Elizabeth immediately. He escorted her out of the inn towards the harbor, which was already crowded and noisy.

"May I present the _Queen_," said Jack, gesturing to his temporary ship.

"It's... magnificent," breathed Elizabeth. "It looks a bit like the _Pearl_."

"Darling, it's nowhere near as _magnificent_ as the _Pearl_," corrected Jack. "But while that bloody traitor has me ship, we will have to use the _Queen_."

Elizabeth smiled, and Jack tried hard not to stare at her. She so rarely smiled now--in fact, she had hardly smiled at all in his presence--and it was such an amazing sight...

"Jack, I'm sorry for disrupting your search of the Fountain of Youth," she said awkwardly and apologetically.

"Ah, well everything has its price, luv," said Jack, smirking at little.

_I'll have to help him do something in return, of course_, thought Elizabeth, _I would have to sail with him more, definitely. _Strangely, she seemed to like the thought of it, there was something about it that was fascinating and alluring, and she didn't mind that she would be spending more time with another man... _But it's helping... a friend, _she told herself. _Because he's helping me, to find Will. It's allowable, there's nothing wrong with it..._

They boarded the ship and set sail well almost immediately. Elizabeth hastened to stand at the bow, feeling like a child again, the first time she had been on a ship, with things unknown ahead of her... and adventures, and new things, and new people... There was a wonderful feeling to the thought of this, and her heart felt light and free...

Footsteps announced Jack approaching her, and she turned around. He offered her a bottle of rum, and she took it, turning it around in her hands before uncorking it and taking a sip.

"How long will it take?" she asked.

"That would depend, luv, on what we encounter and whether or not your dear William will be where we will be," he said.

"But he has to be there; where else could he be?" She felt worried, knew she had to see him when they arrived at World's End.

"He," said Jack, uncorking his own bottle and drinking some as well, "could be anywhere. He could be sailing the entire ocean, and no one would dare challenge him. He's quite free."

"How could you say that, Jack?" demanded Elizabeth angrily and passionately. "He's bound to the _Dutchman_! He's cursed to ferry dead souls to the next world!"

Jack tried to make Elizabeth take another swig of rum, and she shook away his hand, the result being a brown stain on the front of her shirt.

"Listen to me, Lizzie," Jack said calmly. She stopped moving and looked at him. The familiar name soothed her, she calmed and sighed. There was something about the way he said 'Lizzie' that made her listen, made her want to hear whatever he had to say, and for once she didn't question why she felt that way.

"He's bound to do the duty, aye," said Jack. "But he is still free. He can go wherever he wants when no one dies. And he may start to forget what happened before. There are thousands of things in this world and people that will fascinate him."

"He wouldn't," she whispered stubbornly.

"It's not certain, luv," he said, knowing he was succeeding.

"Stop lying to me," she said, stepping closer against her will. "He would never... He's loyal, he's honorable. He's not as much of a _pirate_."

"Being the _Pirate_ King, you really ought to have a bit more respect for your own people," said Jack. "But you may thank me one day."

"You're not getting anything in return for that," said Elizabeth furiously. "Don't you dare insult Will."

"Elizabeth--"

"Are you certain we're heading in the right direction?" Elizabeth inquired lightly, blurting out the first subject-changing thing she could think of.

Jack shrugged and opened his compass. _Oh, bugger. _He motioned for Elizabeth to move away, and she did so. He shook his head, frowning, when the arrow moved as well.

"Why don't _you_ hold it," he suggested, closing it and pushing it into her hand.

She looked at him suspiciously but thought for a moment about Will, and the frozen ocean where she might--where she _would, _she corrected--find him. She opened the compass, and looked up--at Jack.

"You're compass doesn't work," she said, again with her stubborn tone. "It never did."

Jack smirked.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thank you for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own PotC.

* * *

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes, snapped the compass shut, gave it back to Jack, and walked toward her cabin. Jack opened the compass again and watched as the arrow turned and followed her. As she swept past him, her shoulder brushed his roughly, and he felt the place burn a little, as if with her anger and frustration. 

He looked out to sea with a half-sigh and glanced back down at the compass again. _Ye really thought she'd believe you, eh? _But he knew she knew his compass couldn't be wrong, and the way she had stopped to listen to him, the way she had stepped closer... He remembered the night before when she came up to him to ask for help. How desperate she had looked, the burden showing in her eyes. He couldn't bear thinking of the way she had pleaded with him helplessly, how alone she was, a dandelion that couldn't stay on the ground, yet needing something to hold on to in the air... _She's not one to stay on that island for ten years, _he thought. _Peas in a pod, she and I. _She needed very little in her life, he realised. All she was asking was freedom and adventure, and he could give that to her. _And I'd be willing to give her comfort. Company in her loneliness_.

He smiled to himself. He could give it to her, the whelp wouldn't even mind his offering her comfort. _He does owe me his life_, he thought.

* * *

Elizabeth sat down on her bed, and immediately stood up again. She paced around the room for a bit to calm herself, then sat back down and stared at the walls of her cabin. 

What could it mean? The compass pointing to Jack... as it had pointed to him before. She loved _Will! _The seeming insanity of it was making her dizzy, she could feel her emotions boiling over, and she lay down on her stomach, kneading the pillow.

Again she wondered why this was happening to her. All she had wanted in her life was freedom, a little more adventure, and one true love. She hadn't even planned to be married, had simply wanted to experience the feeling of being completely and passionately in love...

_And how would that have ended? _

She hadn't wanted it to be a tragic ending, if it had all been 'as planned.' She hadn't even really thought about that, she was more or less assuming it would be all right, that perhaps no one would notice and she would simply fall out of love afterwards... If that was possible.

She had to admit to herself that besides wanting desperately to see Will, she really did need freedom, and Jack was precisely someone who could never have enough of freedom, and who, she remembered, had given her freedom... She tried to think straight, and failed.

_He can give me freedom, he is taking me on an adventure, he is taking me to see Will... He is what I want most in the world--but he couldn't possibly be! I want to see Will, I _love_ Will, I want him most, I want most to go to World's End to find him, I want most--I want most..._

She suddenly found herself wishing hard to escape from the real world, to be safe in Port Royal, with Norrington, living as a commodore's wife... To know her father (who was alive and perfectly fine) would support her in hard times, to know she would be protected, and most of all to be certain that she would never have to confuse her feelings with anything else, that she would never have to know what she really wanted, because she would have everything...

_You wouldn't have everything, you wouldn't have what you want most. It's too late, Elizabeth. You've never liked the safe, smooth path. It's too late, you've made your decision. _

She took a deep breath to assure herself that in spite of this everything was fine.

_Everything'll be fine when I see Will. Everything'll be perfect. _

She suddenly remembered something that she had been meaning to do and climbed back on deck. Jack was standing at the helm, looking content. He hadn't noticed Elizabeth yet, and she watched him steer the ship from where she was. He looked so happy, so _perfect_, standing there with the power to control the ship, control freedom, in his hands, that as Elizabeth glanced out at the wide blue ocean she understood that this was exactly where he belonged, and exactly where she longed to spend the rest of her life.

She walked up to him and hestitated before speaking.

"Jack."

He looked at her and gave her a look that said, _Go on _before looking back out to sea.

She stepped closer and stood by him, reaching out to stroke the smooth polished wood of the helm, not looking at him but at her hands and the line they traced in the wood, that ran along the circle.

Closer, she neglected to see, to _his _hands.

"Do you remember the day..." she began, "that--that I--that you--that you died?"

Jack smirked and glanced at her.

"How could I forget, luv?"

Elizabeth rubbed the line she'd been tracing with her finger, toying with the tip of her braid with her other hand.

"Do you... remember the things we said to each other?"

And the memories rushed back to her as well.

_The clink of metal stopped him and he withdrew from the deep, passionate kiss._

_"It's after you, Jack, not us. Not the ship."_

_She stared at him pleadingly._

_"Can't you see? It's the only way."_

_There was a long silence before he spoke a last word._

_"Pirate."_

_She stared at him again, trying to hold back her emotion, the tears she could feel forming._

_"I'm not sorry."_

"Every word, darling."

She jolted back to the present and found herself hit by the impact of what she had done. For some reason, she could feel tears that were forming _now_, and she was shaking from small sobs that escaped her. Without thinking she moved toward him, and he pulled her closer, arms around her, the helm abandoned. She leaned her head against his neck, her tears spilling onto his chest. He stroked her hair gently.

"Jack--I'm--I'm sorry. I thought--I didn't know--I wasn't thinking... Please--forgive me. I'm sorry, I really am."

He didn't say anything but he kissed her tear-streaked cheek, and continued stroking the hair that had fallen loose from her braid until she stopped crying and looked up at him with a strange new light in her eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thank you for the reviews! Omg Wednesday, the 19th, was International Talk Like a Pirate Day!! I tried to celebrate at school with my friends, but I kind of just ended up giggling and saying "savvy" a lot!

Disclaimer: I do not own PotC.

* * *

She smiled at him dreamily and he let her head move a little more to the side, resting on his arm, so that her hair fell back directly into the sunlight and shone dazzlingly bright. 

"Lizzie darling," he whispered, "you've really no idea what could be happening on the _Dutchman_ right now."

She did not say anything, but the sound of that ship made her want to tell him to not say it, so that perhaps she could forget... She turned her face away. She did not want to believe him, she desperately wanted to slap him for even daring to mention that, but there was that something in his voice... so real, so alluring, it was torture not to give in. She shut her eyes, torn between her morals and emotions.

At last she spoke, her voice hesitant and small, drifting and needing something to hold on to.

"You don't... honestly think he would...?"

"Nothing is ever certain in our world, luv," he said gently, pulling on the black ribbon of her braid, noticing the colors becoming lighter near the tips and much darker closer to her head. The ribbon untied and dropped to the floor, and he ran his fingers through her sun-lightened hair, smooth as silk yet still dry from the ocean winds, until he had freed all the strands from the braid, and waves upon waves of copper and gold cascaded down his arm.

"But he's--he... wouldn't forget..." Tears of frustration leaked out of her eyes again.

Jack brushed them away with his fingertips and held Elizabeth close.

"Before he left," she whispered, "he told me... his heart... had always belonged to me."

"And," she continued, her voice even softer, "he asked me--to--to keep it safe for him. But there was nowhere to put it... So I brought the Chest along, but--but it's not safe now either, and I promised him... And I wish I hadn't brought it, it's so--it's so--" she stopped and tried to think.

"It's so--heavy..." she said. _Come on, Elizabeth, that's the least of your worries, and you know you're only making something up. _

Jack smiled.

"Not a heavy thing to carry, I imagine. Just heavy to have with you, aye?"

_Heavy on your heart_, he was going to say, but held his tongue. _She needs time_, he told himself, and contented himself with stroking her gorgeous hair.

Elizabeth stood leaning on Jack for a few silent moments longer, then suddenly stood up, realizing the position she was in.

"I just--I just wanted to say I'm sorry." She looked him in the eye and they looked like two deep endless wells... She brushed away the thought that had come, suddenly, without warning, into her mind. _What was I thinking?! He's been through an entire _world_, while I was in England, in Port Royal, he knows so much more, has met so many more people... There would be nothing that would--and he's taking me to _Will_, why would he... he is a pirate, but he is a good man. _She repeated the last sentence in her mind, the compass incident completely forgotten, and broke out of her thoughts.

"And I wanted to tell you you're forgiven," said Jack.

* * *

The days were getting much colder. 

When the crew members weren't working (and working a lot harder, to stay warm), they were either belowdecks wearing everything they owned or huddled on deck with steaming mugs of a strange potion concocted by the cook, the latter being the less likely as the air stung and the water that was becoming more violent splashed onto deck in the form of icy droplets.

Elizabeth was the only one remotely enjoying the cold, and it was only because she was constantly telling herself that with each chilly wind that hit her face, she was getting closer to the frozen ocean, closer to the waterfall, closer to World's End... closer to Will. She spent the days helping the crew, though Jack told her that being a woman and a guest aboard his "temporary ship," she didn't have to. Yet she did, because she wanted feel the certain pleasure of being a pirate again.

* * *

"Lizzie, darling," said Jack, walking toward her one cold starry night. She had a woolen blanket wrapped around her shoulders as a shawl and she was leaning against the railing staring at the waves, looking wistful. 

She turned and gave him a small forced smile.

"I--" she stopped. He wouldn't want to be bored with her troubles. "What are you doing here, Jack?"

"Well," said Jack, pretending to be offended, "being captain of this ship I thought I'd be allowed to be anywhere on _my_ ship."

"Oh," said Elizabeth, feeling thick-headed. "Right." She had for some reason avoided talking to Jack lately, and still felt the brush of awkwardness when he called her _darling, _or _love. _

_It's probably that way with all women. _

"You look troubled," he said. "Again."

She turned away.

"I'm fine."

"I'm finding that quite difficult to believe, luv," said Jack with a smirk.

"You've always been one to contradict fact, Jack."

"Really? You were troubled the first time, weren't you dearie? And I'm thinking _you're_ contradicting fact now."

She shook her head.

"Jack, please."

"Curiosity," whispered Jack, forcing her to acknowledge the truth of his past words, "You long for freedom. You long to do what you want to do, because you want it. To act on selfish impulse. One day, you won't be able to resist..."

"Stop it, Jack."

She sighed.

"_All right," _she whispered. "I just... I'm doing everything wrong. I should be able to wait, I can't imagine anything going right this way. It's going to be a disaster. I should be waiting, instead of this... but I can't--I won't--"

"Nobody's making you go back to that island, luv." He took her hand and drew her closer.

She surprised herself by not resisting him, closed her eyes. The way his hand caressed her face... how she had missed someone doing that to her, only somehow with Jack it felt... ten times lighter... ten times more wonderful... She let herself be lost in the feeling.

"But... afterwards... I will have to wait, still..." she whispered, and feeling unafraid now, in his arms, as if he could solve all her problems...

_I shouldn't be doing this. _

But she could still remember what she had said herself.

_Seeing as you are a good man, I know that you would _never_ put me in a position that would compromise my honor. _

_Trust him, Elizabeth. _

She trusted him. Hadn't she said that the first day? And the feel of his arms around her, she could not resist...

Jack's lips brushed her face gently, and he smiled to himself. Lizzie was coming over to him, he knew she wouldn't be able to stay with the whelp for long.

As he was telling himself this, the ship was moving slowly, silently past an iceberg.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Wow, thank you for all the reviews! I am so happy! Oh, there may have been a slight misunderstanding thing about the iceberg... It was just a last-minute way (hehe) to show how close they were getting to the frozen ocean, it wasn't really a danger thing or anything like that.

Disclaimer: However much I dream of this, I do not own PotC. :(

* * *

Jack was the first to notice the chunks of ice floating by, and instantly his smugness vanished. 

_Why_, he thought frustratedly_, must it always be when I am so close to getting what the damned compass points to?!_

He didn't tell Elizabeth. What would be the point? She would notice soon enough, and if she didn't... well, that was all the better for him.

She didn't seem to notice. She had disappeared below deck and he was determined not to do anything to make her come on deck, at least until night, when the now constantly appearing clouds could cover the moon thoroughly enough so that the ice could be relatively unnoticeable, if, he thought, she was focusing her attention on something else...

* * *

Elizabeth sat down on her bed and picked up the Chest. Strangely, it did seem heavier... she struggled to lift it onto her lap and stroked the ornate carvings. 

_"It's always belonged to you." He was staring at it, at the part of him that had been taken out, his life, his love..._

_"Will you keep it safe for me?"_

_She looked at him, with such a tender expression on her face, unable to speak properly, a lump forming in her throat._

_"Yes," she whispered, closing her eyes, and their foreheads touched for a moment--one glorious moment. _

_He turned to go._

_"Will!" She ran up to him, wind whipping her hair sideways, the tatters of her dress flapping around her ankles, and they caught each other in a passionate embrace, lips locking in a fiery kiss... How blissful it felt, to submerge herself in a fantasy of another world, one that she had left behind and could never return to... And how it hurt at the same time, all the impact of the feeling of never seeing him again hitting her in waves and waves of pain, for ten years... _tenyears_! She could barely remember who she was ten years before, it had been so long ago, too long, and too long to wait... But it could have been a lifetime, she thought she ought to feel thankful that at least she could still see him for a day._

_When the last of the flash of green disappeared, she was standing in the sand with the water coming between her toes, and going back again... And she found the tears spilling down her cheeks. _

_Why was she crying? She had to stay strong, how many times had she told herself that and resisted the tears? But then again, now, what did it matter? There was no one to see her anyways, and ten years to wait. And she remembered that she had not cried since the day Jack..._

She sat back against the wall, holding onto the Chest tightly and holding her ear to it, to hear the beating of it, to know he was still there, still out there somewhere, and she still had some hope left. She still had the heart, and she knew he would stay true... Would he? He had promised, had told her it had always belonged to her... And she knew she had felt something since they day they had met, the foggy day at sea...

He loved her. She knew that, or she desperately believed it, and she was going to hold onto it, and know that she loved him back...

What was happening to her? Of course he loved her, and of course she loved him back, didn't she?

_"Nothing is ever certain in our world, luv._"

Strangely, perversely, it was _his _voice that floated into her head, the way _his_ hands stroked her hair and the way _his_ lips brushed her skin.

_Why_? She had never really with him something like--she refused to even think of the word... that four-lettered word, and the world she could find behind it, refused to even think that it could be somehow connected to Jack...

It was insane, it was completely and utterly insane that she could even arrive remotely at that thought, that there was anything besides a rather rocky, distant friendship between her and Jack...

But the compass...

She could not think, thoughts jumbled in her head, and why, _why_ had she let him touch her so?!

She pressed her ear to the Chest again, and instead of the comforting feeling, the thumping seemed so... _vile_ in such a strange way, so disturbing that she had to hear this, every day, for ten years...

But no, she was finding him, she would surprise him with a visit, she would somehow get aboard the _Dutchman_ and they would embrace, and they would kiss, and she would have nothing more to worry about...

Yet the conversation from earlier... she had spoken from her heart, that afterwards all she could do was wait, again...

She was going mad. How could she not wait? It was _Will_ she was waiting for, not just anyone, _Will_, and yet she still could not stand the thought of that island, and the aching, and that longing in her heart for something more...

"Stop it, Lizzie!" she shouted to herself, and her mouth dropped open in astonishment.

_Did I just call... myself_ Lizzie

It didn't make any sense, she hadn't really liked it the first time he called her that, it seemed... too informal, too intimate of a name for someone who was really just an acquaintance, really just someone she had met before and helped and sought help from.

Could it be possible...? Could she possibly be in... in _love_ with...?

The compass...

No.

She had to stay faithful, and besides how could she _ever _love a known liar, cheater, _pirate_?!

She was being ridiculous, indeed.

But still the image of him, of his fingers caressing her face, of being in his arms...

She hadn't been thinking then, she had made a mistake...

...and the time they kissed...

That had been for her and Will!

...and his truly intuitive sense of all her feelings...

He was just smart, that was all...

...and--

The heart beat steadily in the Chest.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Thank you for the beautiful reviews! (does a happy dance and people give me odd looks) And yippee this chapter is a bit LONGER!

Disclaimer: I'll let you know if I ever get to owning PotC...

* * *

_The day after the ship arrived in Port Royal, she was allowed to explore the area, and she remembered it as the most freely spent day of her life. The maid's daughter, Rose, had been told to take her around town and to the beach. It was the first time she had seen such a long stretch of sand all her life, and she was fascinated by it and the way the water washed the sand smooth and ran back. There was a small flow of water coming from somewhere beyond the beach that ran through the sand and to the sea, and for a while, though she was told that being twelve and turning into a young lady she ought not to be behaving in such an unseemly manner, she amused herself with building a tiny wall of stones, shells, and sand in the water's path, trying to block the flow. _

_Rose joined Elizabeth a while later out of sheer boredom and together they successfully held the water back for a surprisingly long time._

"_It's not going to stand for much longer," said Rose, dusting the sand from her hands._

"_It looks strong though, doesn't it?" said Elizabeth, watching as the water gathered higher and higher in the little ditch._

"_Yes." Rose glanced at Elizabeth before looking back at their work. "But the water is stronger, I'm sure. There's no point trying to swim against a river's current forever--you just can't." She moved a finger around in the water, and added, "Sometimes, Miss Elizabeth, it feels good to let the water carry you."_

"_Then why did you help me?" asked Elizabeth, seeing the water starting to overflow and loosen the pieces of the wall, not entirely pleased that Rose was right._

"_Because," said Rose simply, "I wanted to see how long you can hold before the current carries you away."_

* * *

Elizabeth opened her eyes and blinked. She was lying on her bed, and realized she must have fallen asleep, lulled by the steady rhythm of the beating... of the heart... of _his _heart... 

She sat up, the Chest falling onto the thin mattress, and brushed the hair from her face with thoughts swirling through her mind. That memory... it had been so long ago that she hadn't even recognized it when she woke up. _My first memory of Port Royal... Why would I suddenly remember _that_? I wasn't very fond of Port Royal, and why would it come in a dream...? _She shook her head, again telling herself that she was going mad. She picked up the Chest and stowed it carefully in her trunk, and walked out her cabin quietly.

She saw by the still-dark sky that she hadn't been asleep for very long. Jack was standing at the helm, and to her astonishment despite that it was night the deck of the _Queen _was bathed in light. A thin coat of unmelted snow covered the wooden planks, the water was dark and still with the tiniest of ripples and the stars scattered over the surface, but most of all, all around the ship towered icebergs taller than the main mast, with faint blue cores but shiny white surfaces that reflected the beams of moonlight. Chunks of pure white ice drifted by slowly, and ahead of the bow there lay more and more ice, covering the sea with only the narrowest of waterways to maneuver the ship through.

All of a sudden it felt like a strange form of happiness was a thousand steps closer... She ran across deck to Jack and smiled.

"We're in the frozen ocean, aren't we?" she said enthusiastically, "I remember, it looked just like this--oh isn't it beautiful?"

Jack did not say anything and his expression remained the same content look he had whenever he was steering, but she could feel a change, and he seemed... in a way, disappointed?

"Jack?" She frowned a little.

"Aye, luv?"

She looked at him curiously, for the first time in ages really looked at him, took in his confident hands and proud but casual posture. She stepped closer involuntarily, stared at his face and tried hard to resist the strange, sudden urge to trace the outline of his lips...

_What are you _thinking_, Elizabeth?!_

"Did I... upset you...?"

"Darling," said Jack, "if you had upset me I would be upset. Do I look upset?"

"No--you just look--different..."

"Ah," he said, "I would be upset if I look different. Different would mean that I look not the same as usual, and usual would be that I look exceedingly different from everyone else's 'usual,' so I would look the same as everyone else's usual if I looked different. Do I look like everyone else's usual?"

Elizabeth had a perplexed expression on her face, wondering where the conversation was going.

"No, didn't think I did," continued Jack, "therefore I do not look different, and am not upset, savvy?"

Elizabeth nodded absently, then shook her head, and said, "I only meant... well I just thought--"

She sighed and gave up on the matter.

"I just came on deck to see where we are, that's all," she said a moment later. "And then... the frozen ocean! We're almost at the waterfall, and we're almost--He will be at World's End, won't he? Oh, Jack--"

She put a hand on his unconciously.

"Jack... Thank you."

"We're not there yet, luv."

"Yes, but..."

And instead of a rush of excitement and wild happiness soaring in her heart, she could only remember the fears she'd had... about afterwards.

Where would she go? She had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide from the exhaustion and the weight of waiting... And there it was, staring her in the face, taunting her as she looked out at the gleaming sea--she had a life to live, and yet she could never be able to live it, she had devoted all her years to waiting... for what?

She remembered her dream.

_"There's no point trying to swim against a river's current. Sometime it feels good to let the water carry you." To for once take the easier path, to let go, to stop fighting... to act on selfish impulse. _

Waiting... for a few days... and as much as she hated herself for feeling that way, she knew she wanted to lie back, let the water carry her away, to forget the waiting, forget the ten years. Here was her chance, before her, and she told herself she couldn't take it, that she had to be strong and faithful, but it was too alluring, the opportunity that no one was telling her not to take, to be able to have all her freedom, to be able to really, truly _live_ her life... She couldn't, and yet how she needed it! Could she just let go and try it...? _Don't. You can't! _But she knew that no matter what she told herself--eventually--she wouldn't be able to resist.

She continued to stare at Jack, and he could see from the look in her eyes that she was focused on her thoughts deep inside, and he could see a change in her, too, a new beginning... He pulled her closer, brushed her hair from her face, stroked her smooth skin with the back of his fingers, played with her hair a little, and moved his hands more, down her gracefully poised neck, caressed the hollow at the base of her throat, traced the line of her collarbone...

"Jack," she whispered, "Jack, don't. Please." Her voice was barely audible.

He stopped but kept his hand on her silk-like skin.

"I'm sorry," she said, a little louder, in a desperate last attempt to fight her feelings, "I can't. We can't. It would never work... It can never happen."

She looked into his dark eyes, and to Jack there seemed to be a sadness in her expression.

"Jack... you and I... we come from different worlds." Her voice became soft again. "And we move in different circles."

"We're moving in the same circle now, Lizzie," he said. She shook her head, looked away at the shining ocean.

"You're free," she said simply, scared of the truth in her words, "I'm... I'm just living for those few days in my life."

"Do something about those few decades, darling," said Jack.

Her fingers took Jack's gently off her skin.

"I wish I could," she whispered, "but I can't. And I'm waiting, ten years for one day... Is it even worth it?"

"You decide, darling."

"How could I say that? I'm terrible, but... it's not enough. I can't do this, but I have to, and--and I'm so tired, from waiting, and the sound--of the Chest... I can't do this, Jack."

She squeezed her eyes shut, closed away the cold cruel world.

"I want to give up," she breathed, "And I feel so weak about it... but it's the truth."

Silence hung between them.

"And there's no way out," she continued. "I don't know what I'm thinking, I don't know what's happening to me! I--I've been in love with him since the day we met, I swore I would do anything for him... I thought I could. But--I shouldn't be feeling this way, what's wrong with me?"

She let out a long sigh, again the feeling of all those years ahead of her pressing in on her soul, she felt like she was suffocating, needed fresh air...

"The first few days, it was like living in Hell without him, I couldn't do it, I couldn't stand not seeing him, not feeling him... So I went to find you, I knew you would help me. But still, his absence... it feels like someone's carved a hole in me, or broken me into a thousand pieces..." Her unsaid words resounded in her mind. _And when you touch me, it feels like I'm whole again, like I can live. _She had wanted so desperately to feel someone's hands, someone's lips on her skin, someone comforting who loved her like she was his entire world... And she couldn't have enough of it, yet she knew she had to remain faithful... Why was it so hard? She wanted to give in, break down and cry away her heart, but that was losing the battle, wasn't it?

_I need to feel it again, I need something more, I need to... let go and stop fighting. _

_Elizabeth, stop! You have to keep going, you can't lose!_

_And what do I get from winning?_

"This life, I can't continue!" she said, frustration and torment pouring out of her. "I hardly even have reason left to live."

She opened her eyes and stood shocked at what she had said. No reason to live? What was she talking about? She lived for Will, that was more than reason enough!

She breathed deeply, trying to calm herself and the emotions burning inside her.

"Darling, I will _give_ you a reason to live." JAck grasped her by her waist and raised her chin, put one hand behind her head and locked his lips with hers with a deep, fiery passion. He kissed her ardently, feverishly, as if her lips were the only thing in the world.

Elizabeth didn't resist him. She was kissing him back, her heart filled with wild desire and an emotion so strong and bold she could not even begin to name it. She felt like all the world had dropped its defenses, had tossed away the cold sharp burdens of her life and thrown her in a completely different place, beautiful, alluring, mesmerizing. The moment their lips had touched she knew, she had let go. She had stopped fighting the river's current, had given in, had let herself feel what it was like to let the water carry her. And though one part of her mind still told her she shouldn't be doing this, she made herself a promise before she drowned herself in blissful realm made by that kiss.

_Just once. Just a taste of it, and I swear I will be strong and wait for Will for the rest of my life. _

Then she forgot all the worries and fears and let Jack kiss her hair, kiss her eyelids, her cheeks, her throat, and her lips again, the feeling of it so heavenly, so needed that she didn't even think about trying to fight back.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! I really love them :)

Disclaimer: You know the drill, PotC belongs to Disney

* * *

They sailed through the frozen ocean for days. It seemed like they had no sense of direction, no idea where they were going, and no way to find out how to get to the waterfall. 

Elizabeth didn't seem to care, strangely. She spent the days talking to Jack while he manned the helm, pretending to admire the icebergs while staring at him. He was so... magical, in a way, and there was something in him that drew her closer every day, the way she knew he had always been attracted to the sea.

_We have so much in common. _

She had never had a friend who knew her so well. Come to think of it, she'd never really had a friend. In England there had been a few girls of her class and age that she had met before, but she'd never gotten the chance to really talk to them, and from what she remembered they were excited about balls and ribbons and things of that sort, things she had never been very interested in. In Port Royal she had grown up with maids, various dresses, and rules for life. Rules... she was so relieved that she had abandoned them, and shuddered to think of how restraining they had been, like a corset on her breathing...

But Jack... he knew her inside out, like he knew every corner of the _Pearl_, every wave in the ocean...

And she trusted him with all her heart, knew that despite being one of the most dishonest pirates in all the world, he would take her wherever she needed to go, because to her he was the one and only friend she'd ever had.

Which brought her to the topic of Will. A friend... was he? Truth be told, she hadn't really spent that much time with him, but she'd been secretly in love with him for so long... When happiness was just within their reach, it had been grabbed so suddenly and taken far, far away. She didn't like to think about him on the journey. She didn't want to think about the past, she wanted to focus only on the present, only on Jack...

What was wrong with her?

_It's all right. He's just a friend. _

She could still vividly remember the night they had spent together on the rumrunners' island. His arm around her, his face an inch from her own, his fingers on her shoulder...

She grinned. How strange. He had just walked up to her, and now his arm was around her, his face an inch from her own, his fingers on her shoulder...

"Yes?" she turned around. Why did she feel so glad to see him...?

"We're making good progress," he said.

"Oh. Good."

He showed her the charts, explained to her where he thought they were.

"I thought you said we don't know where we are..." she said, confused.

"Aye. But if you notice how the water seems to flow a certain way..."

She stared down at the water and could see his point--it _did_ seem to be moving in one direction, and the current looked strong.

"So we follow it?"

"Aye."

"You're quite talented at this," she said after a while of thought.

"Had you suspected otherwise?"

"No," she said, smiling faintly to hide what she was thinking, and after a moment moved away to the bow and watched the water rushing past with a strange wistful feeling in her heart.

The water moving like a river... it could only mean, of course, that they were getting closer to the waterfall, where the water pounded down like a thousand years worth of rain, where it pushed above, where it was impossible to resist the water's battering against the hull. Where she had survived the fall, miraculously, and woken up to find herself at the end of the living world, at the beginning of the next one.

For one second, one ridiculous, absurd second she thought of turning back, she thought that perhaps she wouldn't be as lucky this time down the waterfall. Perhaps she would drown... And she couldn't come back from the dead, could she? Jack had come back, but he had been trapped in Davy Jones's Locker, and that was between worlds... No living person could go completely to the next world, and no dead person could go completely back... She didn't want to die, she admitted. She wanted a new life, but she wasn't going to choose death.

But it was _Will_ she was going after! It was _Will_ she was following, the man she loved, the man she'd married, then man she _was_ going to see before the end of ten years! And if she died, she'd die for _him_, die trying to see him!

And yet... perversely, it didn't feel worth it, to be throwing away all those years of her life she still had... But she couldn't really spend all those years doing very much besides waiting anyways... But she couldn't, she was stretched taut, stretched to her limit, and she knew that no matter what she didn't want to die falling off the waterfall.

Did she have a choice? If the current was so strong already, it would be useless trying to turn around and go back to the Caribbean. Wouldn't it...? So she might as well just focus on the fact that she would be seeing Will soon, sooner than soon...

But would she find him there? And if she did (_when_ she did, she corrected) what would she say? It had only been about a month, perhaps... But already the time she'd spent with Jack (she giggled at the thought) seemed to have stretched across years, and it felt like she hadn't seen Will for all these years... She could imagine how awkward it would feel, seeing him, trying to talk while trying not to bring up the subject of what had happened... And she truly could not think of anything she would be able to say...

There was nothing. Why had she lost all those things she had wanted to say to him when she had spent those agonizing days on Shipreck Island?

Suddenly with a feeling of piercing guilt she realized that she didn't want to go to World's End anymore, didn't want to risk her life to find her husband (why did it sound so strange, that word?).

_I want to stay here...on a _ real _ship, sailing the seas, forever, without ever having to wait for anything..._

How could she be so selfish? She was certain he loved her, more than anything; how could she even think of giving up on him?

And yet... she _needed_ it, she could feel that she would only ever be happy if she didn't have to wait.

_Don't torture yourself anymore. _

But it was too late, wasn't it?

* * *

"I want to see the charts," said Elizabeth, slipping into Jack's cabin a few days later. 

He tossed her the rolled-up center that he had cut out from the charts, and she caught it and opened it carefully. He watched her eyes move slowly over the detailed drawings, taking in the vast frozen ocean, the waterfall, and the world beyond it. He had been wrong--she looked just as gorgeous in her stolen clothing as in a dress, although, he admitted to himself, he _wouldn't _say no to nothing... Her brown-gold hair tumbled down her back, her thin fingers gracefully rested on top of the charts... Without thinking he stood from his chair and strode to her. He stood behind her, his lips brushed her cheek, and he saw a smile play on her lips, but it disappeared just as easily as it had come.

"We're almost there," she whispered.

He said nothing, but left a line of kisses down her neck. She dropped the charts and put a hand to her chest, and Jack knew her heart had started beating faster...

"It's too late to turn back, isn't it?" her voice was higher than usual, she sounded... frightened? _Lizzie? Frightened?_

He wrapped an arm around her waist, and his other hand caressed the bare skin of her neck before slipping down to her chest. Their fingers entwined there, and her head rested on his arm, while his lips were still gently touching her face...

"What if we don't survive?"

But he quickly quieted her with a finger on her lips. Her eyes closed and her mouth was slightly opened, curved into the tiniest of smiles. She sighed slowly.

"Tell me we'll make it through," she said half-heartedly, not even worrying about it, only focusing on the feel of his lips on her skin...

"Captain!" shouted Gibbs outside the door, banging on the wood.

Elizabeth jumped and broke out of Jack's embrace, her eyes snapping open, ready and alert but terrified, somehow at the same time.

"We're gaining speed! The waterfall's near enough to see!"


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, and please leave one when you're done reading!

Disclaimer: PotC belongs to Disney.

* * *

Elizabeth rushed below deck and returned with a coat on, watching the familiar scene before her. Sailors ran all over deck, panicking and shouting, and beyond the bow, closer than she had imagined, was where the water fell over that precipice, and the world ended. She could see total blackness beyond that point. There weren't even stars in that distant sky. She shivered and glanced down at the water. It was moving by with amazing speed, pushing the ship forward, toward the waterfall... 

She found Jack by the helm as usual and said, "The last time... Barbossa. He told us not to do anything..."

"Aye. Doesn't look like they're doing anything useful."

Jack let go of the helm and let the water do its job, reluctantly admitting that what he did would be useless at this point, that he could not postpone the descent any longer.

The _Queen _started tipping forward.

Most of the things had been secured on the ship, but still objects slid toward the bow. People lost their balance, fell backwards, grabbed onto ropes to avoid being thrown off the ship.

The ship inched along, farther and farther out over the steep drop, water surging around the sides. It was miniscule in comparison to what was behind, and what lay below, almost too far to see, a chip of wood balanced delicately on the edge of an enormous cliff, between the end of one world and the beginning of another, with the water pushing it...

The roaring of the waterfall pounded in Elizabeth's ears. Her hands were wrapped tightly around two spokes of the helm like Jack, and they were hanging onto it from below--the stern end of the ship was pointing to the sky, the bow pointing lower and lower. People were screaming, most of them holding onto something at the bow, where they had been flung.

Elizabeth tightened her grip desperately.

"Almost," she whispered to herself, but her hands were slick with seawater and sweat, slipping... One hand lost its unsecure grasp and she hung there by the fading strength of one arm. She braced herself and stretched as far as she could, but the wind was so strong and her fingers wouldn't touch the wood. She twisted and turned, trying to get that spoke--she gave a little scream as her the spoke slipped from her other hand as well.

The ship went over the edge.

Elizabeth could remember the dreadful feeling of falling, knowing she was probably taking her last breath, chaos all around her, the panic as she saw Jack letting go, the pounding water showering on her head, her ears filled with the shouts of the crew, wood splinters flying through the air... but she felt a pair of strong limbs tighten around her, and she knew she was protected from everything, safe in Jack's arms as they fell together.

* * *

The ship had survived. 

Miraculously, everything important was soaked but intact, Jack noticed. He strode into his cabin to find the windows broken and most of the items wet and wrecked. But the cabin was still there. _Strong ship indeed. Now we have to go find the bloody _Dutchman.

He descended the stairs to the hold and threw his arms up in the air in disgust. They were at the end of the world, ready to find the stupid whelp, and the rum was gone.

He went back on deck and checked the wooden planks, the helm, the mast. All decent.

Elizabeth appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Ah, Lizzie," said Jack. "Do you think your presence might have something to do with every time the rum is gone?"

Elizabeth smiled a little.

"I would never do such a thing," she said teasingly.

"Really, darling."

Elizabeth ran to Jack recklessly, ignoring her mind's warnings. She held onto his arm and looked up at him.

"We're safe," she whispered.

"I would never let anything else happen, dear." He kissed her cheek triumphantly and she leaned back against his chest. His arms instinctively closed around her slender figure, hands clasped at her waist. She sighed with satisfaction.

"We made it through," she continued, her lips curved in a smile, revealing her pearly white teeth. Jack couldn't take his eyes off her. "You saved me. We survived. We're here. I knew you could keep me safe." She left a kiss on his lips before she disappeared to her cabin again.

* * *

Elizbeth rushed into her cabin and shut the door quickly before arranging the furniture properly and sinking into a chair. 

What had she been doing? Especially when she was already at World's End... But she hadn't been able to resist, and she really did appreciate that Jack had saved her, and of course she had trusted that he would make certain they would make it through...

_Now we can find Will._

Why didn't she feel excited about it? She had sought Jack for the very reason of finding him... And that was the reason for the trip, and she...

_Oh I can't _possibly _be in love with--with--not while I'm here with the Heart..._

The Heart.

The Chest had been thrown in a corner of the cabin. She stroked the carvings, hooked her fingers in the two rings on the sides of it, and lifted it. She staggered forward and dropped the Chest on her dresser.

_What is it _made _of?_

A red mark stayed on her fingers where she had hooked the rings, and her hands felt sore. She let out a depressed sigh looking at the Chest, hearing the beating, knowing what was inside and not wanting to see it. But instinctively her hand went to her pocket, where she had kept the key...

It wasn't there.

Perhaps she had dropped it somewhere? She searched the floor, outside, and could find nothing.

She sat down on her bed and buried her head in her hands, trying to think.

* * *

Jack walked across deck to his cabin, his lips burning from the kiss she had left him. She was falling for him, he knew already, but _why _did it have to be here at World's End? 

_Maybe she'll forget the whelp._

He laughed to himself. Likely.

He stopped outside the door to his cabin, having stepped on something hard. He bent down and picked it up, and his eyes widened at what he had found. A key. Dark and heavy. He recognized it.

_I'll give it to her later._

He slipped the key into his pocket.

* * *

Elizabeth closed her eyes and tried to remember every detail of the past few hours. It had to have dropped during the fall, she concluded. What if it had fallen... 

No.

She couldn't have let that happen...

_How could I do such a thing?_

She stumbled out the cabin, up the stairs again, and to Jack's cabin.

"Jack?"

"Aye?"

"I--I... lost it."

He pretended to look confused, his heart beating wildly. So she knew she had lost it. But she had no idea where it was...

"Lost it?"

"The key," she sobbed, falling forward into his arms. "I can't believe I lost it! It must have dropped out of my pocket after we fell or something... into--into the water... How could I do that?! I should have kept it... in a safer place--"

He let her lay her head on his shoulder.

"It's g-gone...! What is Will going to say?!"

"Let's not worry about it at the moment, Lizzie luv," said Jack quietly, stroking her hair and kissing away the tears on her cheeks.

"But--but--"

With one easy motion he lifted her in his arms and settled her on his bed and drew a blanket over her.

"Have a good rest," he whispered.

Elizabeth swallowed, sniffed, and turned on her side, closing her eyes helplessly.

"I'll never be able to open the Chest again..."

He made a hushing noise and waited until her sniffles had subsided and he was sure she was asleep. He sat down in his chair, opened his compass, already knowing where it pointed.

Jack took the key out of his pocket and sat there for a long time, turning it over and over in his hands.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Strangely enough, people dream a lot in this story... Anyways thank you for the amazing reviews!

Disclaimer: PotC belongs to Disney.

* * *

_The _Dutchman_... What was it doing here? _

_Will! She could see him, and he was swinging over..._

_"Oh, Will," she whispered, swept in his arms. _

_But all of a sudden it wasn't him, it was Jack..._

_What was happening?! _

_But no, it _was_ Will... was something wrong with her mind? _

_She felt in her pocket, and it wasn't there... But it had been just a second ago, and she panicked, broke down crying..._

_"But I've kept it safe, all this time..." _

_"You promised..." _

_"But I _did_ keep it safe! I've kept the Chest safe, what's important, your heart..." _

_And he was staring at her in disbelief and horror, and she was crying helplessly..._

_...But it was Jack again, and he kissed her gently, and kissed her more, with growing passion..._

_But the words still echoed in her head..._

_"You promised..." _

_

* * *

_

Jack steered the ship through the trackless sea for a few hours, his mind on the way she had collapsed in tears in his arms, how easily she had listened to him, stopped fighting to lie down on his bed.

Could she possibly trust him that way so much? They were at the end of the world already... or perhaps she had listened to him and doubted that he would be there... She would never. She was everything a rebel was, stubborn, defiant, fiery and motivated... and she didn't listen to anyone. She wouldn't.

And yet wasn't he a rebel too?

...and she was filled with an unrestrained passion, the woman who had run wild with a beautifully fierce kind of courage in her.

_Been taught how to live her life and despised that. Told to take the straight easy path and took exactly the rocky curving one._

And of course... an insatiable curiosity.

_Darling darling Lizzie._

He loved her.

He loved everything about her, her flaming temper, her longing for adventure, her crafty and selfish plotting (that day... he had loved it too). He loved her hair, her eyes, her lips... He loved the way she had lifted the rum bottle to declare, "To freedom!"

What he wouldn't give to be sure she loved him too...

And he could still not believe what she had seen in the stupid whelp.

He was _nothing_ like Lizzie.

He sighed.

Life didn't make sense.

* * *

Elizabeth tossed and turned through her troubled dreams and woke terrified and confused, taking choked breaths with the traces of tears on her face. 

"Will," she gasped, looking around frantically, and found herself relieved that she was in Jack's cabin, and Will wasn't there, that it all hadn't happened...

She rubbed her eyes, still sore from the tears, and slipped out of bed. She quietly opened the cabin door and walked to Jack, standing in a bored fashion at the helm.

"You haven't seen the key anywhere, have you?" she asked.

Jack turned to look at her for a moment before quickly turning away, his mind churning with thoughts.

_Bloody key, why can't she just forget! _

_Should I give it to her..._

_Don't do it, she's obsessed enough with the Chest, she needs to get away, and you will be right there, her escape!_

_Give it to her, be the good man she says you are!_

_Damn it, don't give it back, she doesn't suspect you and she'll be mad if she knows you took it._

_Give. It. Back to her! Not yours to keep._

_PIRATE._

_Bugger off. She's devastated. She's worrying._

"I haven't," he said smoothly, making his voice as apologetic and sympathetic as possible.

She let out the breath she'd been holding, disappointment and worry clear on her face.

"How could I be so careless," she whispered, holding one hand up to rub her forehead fiercely.

"We'll find it," he assured her. _I'll pretend I found it later, _he vowed.

"I can't believe I'm troubling you with all this," she said after a pause, laying her head on his shoulder. His hands abandoned the helm to move up her waist and breast to her neck, which he caressed gently. Elizabeth felt him leave a warm trail where he his fingers were seconds earlier. He could feel her tense under his touch, and he stroked her cheek, making her relax. She felt like a dry cloth, soaking in the richness of the moment.

"It's not troubling," whispered Jack.

She smiled a little.

"You haven't slept," she said.

"Gibbs will be taking the helm soon," he answered nonchalantly.

"I'll take the watch in the crow's nest," she said quietly, and slipped away as with perfect timing Gibbs came onto deck.

Jack strolled across deck to his cabin and Elizabeth paused halfway up the rigging, for no reason, it seemed even to her, and watched him disappear behind the door.

* * *

When Jack came out of the cabin hours later, Elizabeth had just come down from the crow's nest and was staring at the waves, looking wistful.

And without thinking, without stopping a second to consider, he ran up to her and swept her up in his arms. The pure beauty of doing so shocked him, and he staggered back a little but kept a tight comforting grip on her.

"I--Jack--" she stammered. "What are you--"

"I love you," he blurted out to her, simply. He saw her open her mouth a little to say something, but he just stared at her... How gorgeous she was, and how good it felt to have told her...!

Much to his surprise, her face broke into a smile, relieved, joyful.

She slid down and back on her feet, pulled him toward her, caught his lips in a long, deep kiss. He had never felt so wonderful his entire life, and he threw his arms around her, kissed her back, lips moving furiously...

_Please do not be a dream!_

As he was still savoring the moment he dug his thumbnail into one of his fingers, welcoming pain to tell him everything was real.

_That was much too far from gentle_, he thought, and lost himself in the beauty of her lips, sealed on his.

* * *

"Jack! Jack!"

Someone was knocking on his door.

_Destroying my door is more accurate._

He got off his bed grumpily and--

_WHAT?!_

He looked around him. His cabin was just as it had been when he had come in... He stared down at his bed.

_No._

It couldn't have been a dream. It was so vivid--he could remember every second, it had been too real to be a dream...

And too good to be true?

And he suddenly realized with growing horror that he could remember every second but the pain. There had been no pain, but he had convinced himself it was there. It had been too wonderful, too luxurious to be real--there had not been the pain. But he had wanted so desperately for it to be true... and believed that there had been pain when he had scratched himself.

_Damn. Damn. Damn._

He sat down on the bed and buried his face in his hands.

_Why couldn't it have been true?! Best dream I'd ever had..._

It was indescribable, the terrible crushing disappointment that he felt, as if he had been so close to his heart's greatest desire... and found himself still at the very beginning with the long road stretching ahead...

He punched the mattress.

"Jack! Open the door!" It was Elizabeth's voice.

He didn't want to see her.

"Cap'n! There's a ship!" Gibbs called. His fist banged on the door.

"Bugger," he muttered, staying on the bed.

He tried to rip the blanket apart in his fury and distress.

He could still feel her lips...

"_Jack_!" screamed Elizabeth. "A ship's been sighted!"

"Bloody hell, can I not be left alone!" bellowed Jack, standing up and throwing the door open in irritation.

"Not now!" shouted Gibbs, pointing out to sea. "It's the _Black Pearl!_"


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: To my reviewers--I love you!!

Disclaimer: PotC belongs to Disney...

* * *

Jack stopped in his doorway. 

"Ah, _my_ ship, eh?"

"Aye,captain!" said Gibbs frantically. "Barbossa."

Jack walked slowly out on deck, taking the telescope that Gibbs was holding out. He adjusted the length and held it up to his eye. Indeed there was his ship on the horizon, looking gorgeous in its black-sailed glory. Jack frowned. _Barbossa at World's End?_ _How dare he sail my ship off the edge of that waterfall. Stupid traitor. _

It was coming closer, evidently having spotted the _Queen_.

"Barbossa..." Elizabeth said uncertainly, squinting at the shape of the ship.

"He can't find his way to the Fountain of Youth without me," said Jack, smirking. He lowered the telescope. "Might as well continue our... quest to find the _Dutchman, _aye?"

Elizabeth sat down on a battered barrel and thought hard as Jack wandered back to his cabin and Gibbs went belowdecks.

_Barbossa needs the charts and he could offer something good in return for them... but we need the charts to avoid getting lost here. Is there no other way to find Will? _

_The compass... But what if it misleads us? What if it points to something else the entire time..._

She sighed with frustration. The compass had never really pointed to anything--any_one_ else but Jack. Why would it be any different now?

_We're at World's End. Elizabeth. Think! You can't _possibly_ be--be in _love_ with Jack while you're searching for Will! _For one wild, reckless moment she thought of abandoning all the weeks of journeying... _Don't be ridiculous. For what? _For what... They had gotten so far, survived even the waterfall, how could she give up now for--for... What _did_ she want to do instead? (It shocked and frightened her that she really did feel like doing something else...)

And the answer came to her by a wind that blew past her. Yes, she wanted to give it up just to sail, with no beginning, no end. Nowhere to go, the purpose simply to _be_ at sea, to depend on the wind alone, to look at the stars for guidance, and of course (of course?! How could it even be remotely possible?!), Jack.

No. Not Jack. Will. Her husband. The man she loved.

Wasn't that right?

But she felt a great longing, to be on a ship, to be _free_, for the rest of her life...

_"...What a ship _really _is, what the _Black Pearl _is," said Jack, his eyes shining, his expression fascinating, drawing her to him with the alluring sound of his voice, "is freedom."_

"Yes," she whispered wistfully. "Freedom."

And being a pirate, _that_ was danger. And how she loved it. The feeling that she might die in five years, or a five hours, or five minutes; the feeling of jumping headfirst, without pausing to think, into adventure. And there was only one person with the ability to give her that.

_Oh, no. No. No. No... I. Am. Not..._

At the moment Gibbs yelled, "Jack! The _Pearl_!"

Elizabeth stood up immediately and stared, forgetting how amazing the _Black Pearl _was up close. There was a wonderfully comforting feeling at seeing the familiar vessel. And seeing Barbossa the helm... It was strangely disorienting, though she had seen it so often before. He didn't look right there. She pictured Jack standing there instead, and it was perfect, like one key simply fit in one lock, perfect in the way those two and only those two could be together, like... like her lips and only a certain someone else's could touch...

_Elizabeth!_

_Just give in..._

She shook herself out of the reverie and watched Barbossa swing over uninvited, as she had expected. She was the first one he saw when his feet touched the deck.

"Ah, Mrs. Turner," he said, nodding at her.

She looked around, confused, before realizing he was speaking to her.

How _could I forget I'm married?!_

"Oh, I--what are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I might be asking ye the same question," he said, grinning and biting into an apple.

"I'm--it's personal," she said firmly.

"Ah. Come to find your... husband?"

She narrowed her eyes at him when Jack came out of his cabin and spotted them.

"Jack," greeted Barbossa. "I see you've found yerself a ship 'ere."

"I prefer me _actual _ship, mate," said Jack, nodding, and added cheerfully, "Care to trade?"

Barbossa rolled his eyes. "I'd like my charts back."

"Ah," said Jack in the same cheerful tone, smiling, and brought his hands together.

"Well? Hand them over."

Jack blinked at Barbossa, still smiling, then said, "No."

"Agh, I'll give you yer ship back," said Barbossa.

Jack considered it for a moment, and answered, "Ye didn't actually expect me to agree, did you?"

"No. But by the looks of it ye're going to need some... help finding the _Dutchman_."

"And you can do that?" said Elizabeth, raising her eyebrows.

"Darling, do let me do the bargaining," said Jack, and to Barbossa said, "As much as I'd like to accept the offer, I believe giving away the charts to a man who has no ship would be highly useless and a waste of me precious charts, and because I am a man who is perfectly fond of putting valuable items to good use I have advised myself not to do said giving away of charts. Savvy?"

"I meant you can have the _Black Pearl_ and I can take yer ship here, and you give me my charts," said Barbossa impatiently.

"That would leave you being indebted to me," said Jack.

"They were _my_ charts to begin with," argued Barbossa.

"Pirate." Jack shrugged.

Barbossa rolled his eyes and again.

"Still want to trade ships?" Jack offered, once again cheerful.

"Damn you, Jack," muttered Barbossa, taking the rope to swing back to the _Pearl_.

"Ah yes," called Jack after him. "Think of some better offer for Captain Jack Sparrow!"

Jack and Elizabeth watched Barbossa stalk into the captain's quarters aboard the _Pearl_ and slam the door behind him.

"Didn't expect much more'n that," commented Jack.

"I'm sorry about the _Pearl_, Jack," said Elizabeth quietly, thinking again of how flawlessly Jack fit with the _Pearl. _

"Not your fault, darling," said Jack listlessly. "Although I wouldn't refuse an offer to go kill the bastard right now."

Elizabeth smiled softly.

"I would do it, if you really wanted me to," she whispered.

"Would you really," said Jack, amused.

"Only if you _really_ wanted," she said. Her voice was sleek as silk, attractive, luring him.

"No, I want _this_," said Jack, captivated. He drew close to her, his hands moving up and down her slender figure, his lips crashing onto hers fervently, wildly, feverishly, unable to resist her charm, her bewitchment, _her. _

She deepened the kiss, acting on reckless impulse, walking backwards to the railing, and he responded by moving forward, never letting go of her. Desire rested hot and passionate between them. Elizabeth stopped at the railing, and for a long, beautiful moment they stood, pouring heart and soul into the kiss.

"Want to know what I want?" asked Elizabeth breathlessly when they broke apart. She took a few breaths to calm her heart, which seemed to be jumping twice as fast as normal. She was stunned, exhilirated, and beyond all, elated.

"Yes, what is it that _you_ want, Lizzie luv?" Jack stroked his compass and looked at her, smiling roguishly.

"I want--I want you," said Elizabeth, smiling an enthralling smile.

Jack stared at her, at her sparkling honey eyes, and she found his chocolate brown ones... and they stood there, looking as if the other was the only thing in the world for them; something locked between them, something silent, unsaid that they both understood and yet was a mystery to both of them, something so strong, so powerful that it seemed to pulse on its own, spreading, and they were surprised it didn't push them to the ground at the very moment.

"Jack," whispered Elizabeth, breaking the spell and kissing him again, gently.

"Lizzie," said Jack, smoothing her hair back, stroking it softly, as if it were as precious as spun gold.

Elizabeth tilted her head back, let Jack caress her face, move his hand down her neck, kiss the hollow at the base of her throat. His hands traveled down more, beneath her breasts, and to her back, by which he held her. Her arms were around his waist, and they stood, two figures completing each other, lost in emotions.

Elizabeth opened her mouth to speak, in his ear, those words that seemed to hold an entire world, enchanting and mesmerizing, and it was amazing how the words seemed to be all that was needed, all that he wanted to hear.

"I love you."


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Thank you for all the lovely reviews! So sorry for the wait!

Disclaimer: I do not own PotC.

* * *

Jack grinned, and swept Elizabeth into an embrace, and kissed her as if the world depended on it. 

"Me compass was right, aye?"

"Yes," whispered Elizabeth smilingly. "Yes."

"I love you too, Lizzie," said Jack.

"Really?" Elizabeth teased.

"Yes," said Jack solemnly. "I love you, Lizzie. I love you, I love you, I love you."

Elizabeth laughed, and they sank into another kiss.

"Now ye have a reason to be living, darling," whispered Jack, as Elizabeth turned her face into his chest and inhaled the smell of his skin.

_A reason to be living..._

"Yes," she whispered, distracted, and turned her head away worriedly.

This was wrong. How could she do this? She had admitted to herself, yes, that she loved him... And he loved her too! She could spend the rest of her life with him, on the _Black Pearl _when they got it back, sailing the seas forever...! She could forget about the past--it couldn't be too hard, could it?--and start on fresh new parchment, as Elizabeth Swann once again, she could have a _life_ again, she could have a _new _one!... But though she yearned to do exactly that... how could she? There was Will to consider! _He_ loved her, too, and she was _married _to him, how could she betray him like this? He was out there somewhere in the sea, aboard the _Flying Dutchman_, waiting patiently, or impatiently, but waiting... the way she could never wait, the way she had decided not to wait...

_Elizabeth! How could you just forget about Will?! He's kind, and sweet, and caring, and patient, and loyal, and honorable, and he's risked his life for you a thousand times over! Whereas Jack has a bad reputation, is dishonest, untrustworthy, dangerous, reckless perhaps, treacherous, drunk, unhygienic... and I love him. _

Rose had evidently neglected to tell her that after letting go, it was just about impossible to try to swim against the current again.

To try to go against her emotions...

Her love?

"Jack, I can't do this," she said suddenly. "I can't."

Jack said nothing but he watched her expression carefully.

"I can't," she said helplessly. "I love you. I really _really_ do love you, but... I'm a married woman. We're here _because_ I'm looking for my husband. I can't--I can't do this to him. I can't betray him. He loves me, and--and I love him too."

Did she really?

"Even if it's not the same way," she added in a whisper.

"And," she said, trying to speak louder, "I can't do this to _you_. I'll ruin both of you. I--_you're _free. I'm just as bound to all these years as he is."

"No, luv," insisted Jack, kissing her cheek. "You're free too."

"No, no," whispered Elizabeth, shaking her head, tears pouring out of her eyes. "No, I'm not. I have to... I have to remain faithful."

"And deny yourself the rest of your _life_? That doesn't sound like Lizzie."

"No, don't," said Elizabeth, choking on her sobs. "Don't. I can't. I'm sorry. I can't. Please, don't. I'm going to find him, and afterward I _will _wait for him, I _will._" Her words were nearly inarticulate as she struggled to speak, struggled to convince Jack, convince _herself_, "Ten years for one day--it's not that bad, it _is_ worth it, isn't it? It's good enough, I'll take it. I can manage, I'll be all right with it, I'm sure _someone _somewhere has been separated from her husband like this before. And you can be free, you don't have to be tied to this with me. You can--you can go--after this--"

"Lizzie, Lizzie," said Jack firmly, holding her back as she tried to run, "You don't have to follow the rules every time, luv. I promise you, you don't have to."

"_Stop_!" she bellowed, her throat closing in on her words, "Stop it! Don't tell me that, don't tell me I don't have to consider Will too! It's a lie--a lie! Don't--don't say that--"

"Lizzie, darling," said Jack, resisting her struggles to break away from his arms. "Lizzie, stop."

"--I do care about Will too! I love him too, I do--I really do--" and at last she collapsed, exhausted and out of words, sobbing, with the tears streaming down her face. She took a great gasping breath and calmed herself a little.

"I love him," she said insistently. "There's more than one kind of love. I do, I love him. And I can't betray him. I'm sorry. But with you, I've been--I've been living in a dream. And I'll remember it. But I have to come back to what's real, I have to stay focused. I can't do this. But I wanted to thank you for these days. I'm sorry."

And finally Jack let her go, let her break out of his grasp, and watched her walk slowly, head half-down, down the stairs.

And all the while she was fighting herself, willing herself not to look back.

* * *

_Stupid bloody whelp._

Jack threw open his cabin door and walked in, slamming it shut behind him. He had been standing on deck for hours--the sun was up now--and Lizzie hadn't appeared once.

_No doubt sitting in her cabin thinking 'bout _him

_What the _hell_ were ye doing?!_

This time he hadn't even been 'so close,' he had been _right there_, he had had it right in his grasp! But he had let her slip through his fingers...

And she had _admitted_ it.

She _loved_ him.

And despite that she had told him the couldn't be together, he found himself grinning widely, triumphantly. Of course she would come over to his side, it had only been a matter of time, he thought smugly.

Outside his cabin, someone landed on deck.

Jack frowned, and suddenly remembered the only person it could be.

* * *

"What d'you want?" asked Jack, strolling out the cabin to Barbossa.

"Ah, to negotiate, of course," said Barbossa, smiling.

Jack narrowed his eyes.

"I'm not handin' over the charts," he said stubbornly.

"No," agreed Barbossa. "I was thinkin' that _I _could lead ye to the _Dutchman_, and you and I could sail to the Fountain afterwards, together, eh?"

"You could lead us to the _Dutchman?" _said Jack irritably. _Last thing I need is fer Lizzie t'see the whelp. Unless..._ He fingered the key in his pocket thoughtfully.

"Aye," said Barbossa, grinning.

"Actually..." said Jack, and he leaned close to Barbossa to whisper something in his ear.

Barbossa stared at Jack for a moment before smiling wider, his eyes gleaming.

"Ah, I see what ye have in mind," he said.

"Agreed then?" said Jack.

Barbossa shrugged.

"Agreed."

They shook hands, and suddenly Barbossa asked, "What's that you got in yer pocket...?"


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Over a hundred reviews! Thank you so much! I am trying to actually have a plot, so please bear with me about the fact that there will be less JE moments. :( But rest assured I will not write a Willabeth story for my life.

Disclaimer: Alas, Disney owns PotC.

* * *

Jack acted on impulse. 

He smiled a bright and friendly smile and said, "What?"

Barbossa shook his head with exasperation. "Yer pocket." And he lifted Jack's arm so that his hand came out his pocket. Thinking fast, Jack dropped the key, but it was too late--it fell to the ground.

Barbossa grinned.

"Ah," he said, and picked up the key, examining it in his hands.

"Oi," said Jack. Barbossa looked up.

Jack was pointing his pistol directly between Barbossa's eyes.

He raised an eyebrow, dangling the key in his fingers.

Jack cocked the pistol. "I'd be wantin' that back, mate."

Barbossa smiled a bit defeatedly and handed the key back to Jack. As he watched him stow the pistol away, he thought, _A pity I didn't run the moment I had it. But now I know Sparrow has it..._

Jack glared at Barbossa, and Barbossa glared back. The former resentment and rivalry between them was back.

Jack was the first to break the silence.

"What are you doing on me ship?"

"I had the impression ye called the _Black Pearl_ yer ship."

Jack shrugged and said cheerfully, "I have two ships. What are you doing on me stolen ship?"

"Technically if you stole this ship and it belongs to you, then the _Black Pearl_ is mine..."

"What _are_ ye doing on the _Queen_?!"

"I made a deal with you," said Barbossa evenly.

"Aye," agreed Jack. "Wouldn't it to be customary then, for now to be the time for you to... leave?"

"Aye, it would," said Barbossa. "But we don't follow customs very well, now do we, Sparrow? And I've a few questions I been meaning to ask Mrs. Turner... Is she available?"

"Actually," said Jack truthfully, glaring suspiciously, "she seems to be having a _lack_ of availability lately."

"Ah, ye wouldn't mind if I wait, then would ye?"

Jack pretended to consider. _What the hell is he trying to do..._

"I would mind greatly," said Jack. "Shall I escort you off the ship?"

Barbossa rolled his eyes.

"You and I will be seeing each other more often now," he said. "Our deal."

"Yes that will be necessary," said Jack. "Therefore I shall savor the times, such as now, when I do not have to see you. Savvy?"

"Fine. I'll be going now," he said. "But I do have that accord with you. I intend to be immortal and enjoy it."

He swung away back to the _Pearl_.

"Doesn't everyone?" said Jack.

* * *

Elizabeth had been sitting on her bed ever since she had ran away from Jack, and she had relived every moment she could remember of being with Will, starting all the way from when they had met, when she had saved him, in a way, on the crossing to Port Royal... 

Her face was stained with tears.

_Yes, I _do_ still love him, _she insisted. _I love him. I do. I just... love Jack too?_

She remembered the things she'd thought so long ago, it seemed... about what she had wanted as a child. Freedom, adventure, true love. And she hadn't even wanted to be a wife, she had just wanted to be in love, to have someone love her back. And she had thought it would be simple, to just fall out of love...

_Oh God, I _can_ fall out of love._

_No. I _can't. _I love Will. I. Love. Will. I am his lawfully wedded wife. We belong together. We're soulmates, and we realized that since we met._

But she had _admitted, _and not just to herself, that she loved Jack! And she knew she did...

Why, _why_ had she said so?! It had only been a passing fancy, an impulse...! But she acted on impulse... And why did having told him make her feel so weak, so passive? She had known what would happen if she told him she loved him, or had she? No, she couldn't predict that, but even then she shouldn't have! If she hadn't, she wouldn't be driven mad with longing for his lips now, would she? She wouldn't have hurt Jack as well, she wouldn't have made this journey much more complicated than it needed to be... Why did she have to be cursed with such damned _curiosity_?!

_If I were Pandora, I would have opened the forbidden box._

_God I _shouldn't_ have told him!!_

She ran her fingers over the carvings on the Chest, which sat beside her.

_Oh, Elizabeth, what were you thinking? Do you _have_ to push the limits on everything? Do you _have_ to find out what happens if you do something you know you shouldn't...?!_

Yes, yes, she did. She had to tell him. She had to open the forbidden box.

And look what had happened!

And yet... telling him, those words, coming out of her mouth... yes, she had been submissive, she had given in... but she'd felt so wonderful saying it, admitting something, telling the truth... It had been like letting go of an enormous burden, letting herself give in to temptation, soaking herself in rich warm comfort afterwards.

_But you shouldn't have anyway!_

She buried her face in her hands.

She was so tired of arguing with herself.

She picked up the heavy Chest, laid it on her lap and stared at the heart-shaped lock. She could hear the steady beating inside, taunting her, reminding her that she did not have the key.

Elizabeth pulled out her dagger and jammed it into the lock, tried to turn it. The dagger stuck fast in the locking mechanism, not moving.

_Another bad decision._

She yanked the dagger out and screaming angrily to herself, stabbed the Chest, slashing at the decorated surfaces, leaving marks on the carved lid, and when she finally brought herself to stop collapsed bent over the Chest, her body shaking with sobs.

She pushed the Chest aside, not bothering to notice that it fell to the floor, and staggered on deck. Someone had just come down from the crow's nest and she took the afternoon watch.

She sat there for hours, staring blankly ahead at the horizon, and sometimes she thought she could see a ship there... And she passed the afternoon in that manner, becoming hopeful in a sudden rush, thinking she had sighted the _Dutchman_, and sitting down again disappointed, knowing it had been just an illusion.

* * *

Elizabeth climbed down at sunset, after she had watched Jack steer and made sure he was back in his cabin. She intended to return to her own cabin but at that moment she saw out of the corner of her eye, someone swinging off the _Black Pearl_, still adjacent to the _Queen._

She turned quickly. It was Barbossa.

"What are you doing here?" said Elizabeth.

"Not a very friendly greeting," said Barbossa. "It's been too long, Mrs. Turner."

He grinned at her, biting into an apple.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Thank you for the reviews :)

Disclaimer: PotC belongs to Disney.

* * *

Elizabeth froze. That tone... too friendly. _He wants something._

"Shouldn't you be on 'your' ship?" she asked carefully.

"I had a sudden desire to... visit."

"The captain is in his cabin," she said, gesturing pointedly.

"Aye, I'd noticed," said Barbossa. "But I had the fancy to visit... someone else."

Elizabeth kept her breathing even. She had never felt safe in Barbossa's presence. It was unnerving; she tried controlling her expression, making it blank. Barbossa had always wanted something or the other, he had always had something in mind--never doing something on accident, never doing something for no self-profiting reason. And he wasn't a very honorable man... she stepped back a little.

"What exactly do you want from me?"

Barbossa pondered it for a moment before saying, "Jack and I have a deal. I'm to take you to the _Dutchman_ and he'll take me to the Fountain of Youth."

She made no comment on the change of subject, too shocked by what he had said. _Did he really... He really did that...?_

"What?" she managed to say, not quite believing it.

"Yes, surprising, innit? 'Specially since it's quite obvious how he... desires you."

"I'd rather not talk about it," Elizabeth said stiffly, impatient for him to just _leave_.

"Ah, well in that case I've something else to talk about," said Barbossa. "How did you come here?"

"You already know that," said Elizabeth suspiciously.

"Aye, but... ye sailed here?"

"There's no other way," she said, and added quickly, "And I might ask you what _you'd_ be doing at the end of the world. You were on your way to the Fountain of Youth, I believe?"

"I seem to lack a bit of something to get there, as you can see."

Elizabeth sighed. "I'm not getting it for you. And you've made a deal with Jack anyway."

"I'll make a deal with you," said Barbossa. "Aren't you missing something?"

Her eyes widened for the tiniest moment but it was enough. Barbossa grinned wider, and Elizabeth cursed herself for giving it away. She'd been thinking about it more often now. _But what does _he_ want?_

Finally she said, "How do you know about it?"

Barbossa shrugged. "Well, now if I told ye I wouldn't have much to trade now, eh?"

Elizabeth gritted her teeth.

"Where is the key?" she demanded, voice furious, grabbing Barbossa by the arm. He carefully detached her fingers before speaking again.

"If ye happen to find the charts for me I could very easily give ye your precious key... to the precious Chest, which I'm sure you're keeping somewhere very safe..."

No. He _couldn't_ be wanting the Chest.

"Just give me the key."

Barbossa held out a hand. "Charts," he said.

Elizabeth slid her dagger from its place on her belt and held it a hair's width from his throat. He flinched in surprise but otherwise kept very still as she held him, her hand steady from months of fighting and deceiving. _Headstrong stubborn lass_. He grudgingly admitted that she had alarmed him for a second. She knew what she wanted and wouldn't stop until she got it--that was certain. He would have to watch her more carefully now.

"Tell me," she demanded.

Barbossa tilted his head very slightly away from the blade.

"Killing me will not get you any nearer to yer key."

Elizabeth sighed in partial defeat, but even as Barbossa watched her stow away her dagger with a little sense of relief, he knew she probably wouldn't hesitate to plunge that blade into his chest the moment she had her prize. _No, she's not as low as that. _Was she? _Better be on your guard anyway._

"All right," said Elizabeth evenly, giving him a defiant look, challenging him. "I'll get you the charts. And you will get me the key."

"Agreed," said Barbossa, holding out his hand.

After they shook hands, Elizabeth held her face very close to his. What he could see of her looked very much like what he had first seen of her--head held high, jaw set, eyes blazing. But this time she wasn't trembling, and she said in a deadly threatening whisper, "If my husband comes to any harm, I will personally make sure you are sent to the next world."

She drew back, closed her eyes for a moment, and added, more quietly, "The same for Jack."

Barbossa smiled faintly at her, with the hint of a smirk. She turned, her hair whipping around, and strode across deck to the stairs, back to her cabin.

* * *

Elizabeth sat down on her bed but after a while went back on deck. Barbossa had left. She stood undecided on deck for a few minutes. 

_You should go to Jack. _

_But he's... upset. _She sighed. Maybe she should have just stayed with him. _It would make everything so much easier._

_But I've promised myself to Will._

She needed the charts. Needed them to get the key back. _What _is _so important about the key?_

_Oh how could you _think_ that?! _She had to keep the Chest safe. It wasn't safe without the key. And she had promised.

She walked into Jack's cabin.

"D'you mind if... if I take the charts?" she said.

Jack looked at her, mildly surprised. "By all means, take them, luv." He took them out his desk and tossed them to her.

"Thank you." She caught them in midair, relieved that it had been so easy. She turned to leave, but stopped with her hand on the doorknob.

"Yes?" he said.

"Jack..." she whispered.

He stared at her, waiting. She tried to speak, but no sound came out. Emotions were running wild inside her, how could she convey them in a simple sentence? There were so many, too many, that had been building for months. How could she tell him everything--her frenzied passion for freedom, her sense of duty to remain an honorable person, her desperate longing not to be bound and waiting, knowing that she still loved Will in a way, yet also a rich desire for Jack's lips on hers, the constant need for someone's steady unfailing care for her, the hatred of being somewhere she knew she'd be 'safe', the knowledge that she really, truly _wanted _to be at sea, the feeling of such blissfulness every time Will held her in his arms, the disdain for dishonest-acting people, the guilt still of what she'd done to Jack, the guilt of how she'd be hurting Will with what she'd done _with_ Jack... and yet, still, above all, the fact that she _loved _him, that she honestly did _love_ him, that she wanted to be with him, but that she _couldn't_, that something was holding her back, that her heart's greatest wish was to be able to spend all her life with him, but she was walking away from him because she was bound to someone else?

She took a deep breath, but all she could say was, "I'm sorry." _And yet I'm betraying you again._

"It's your choice, darling," he said quietly, staring at her. _God she's so damn beautiful. How could she belong with the whelp! _

She let out a dry, tearless sob, shaking her head, and left the cabin.

He knew the charts were for Barbossa. He could tell. And he knew exactly what Barbossa was going to give her in exchange.

He couldn't help feeling terribly sorry for her. She had told him she loved him and he knew she couldn't lie about that... but she was too sympathetic, too used to thinking automatically that she belonged to Will.

_She probably feels guilty that he got stabbed. _

And she felt she had to do everything for him, she had to remain 'faithful' even while she was in love with someone else, she had to devote her whole self to him now.

_"Darling it's not worth it," _he wanted to go out and tell her. He wanted to hold her again, to stroke her skin, to tell her she shouldn't throw away everything, tell her she _could _stay with him and he would give her a new life that she could live to the fullest, a life in which she could live in the moment, without anything to plan, anything to worry about, a life in which she had no responsibilities, no burdens to carry, in which she could do what she wanted, be thrilled every second.

He wanted to run out and grab her and make her realize that she would be heartbroken, she would lose everything, if she chose to sacrifice herself for Will, that she knew she wanted to act on selfish impulse, to give herself a chance, and she _could_.

But he didn't. He stayed where he was, stared at his compass, and wished that she would come back herself.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Thank you, so, _so_ much for the wonderful reviews! And... ok, I know I've been taking very long to update lately and the chapters are so short, so I'm very sorry, but with schoolwork and such, well you know... I'll try my very very best to give you a better story now :)

Disclaimer: I do not own PotC.

* * *

Elizabeth sat down with the charts on the steps that led to the stern of the ship. The _Black Pearl_ was still close, its sails billowing in the wind. She could see Barbossa standing on the deck and as soon as he spotted her he swung over again. 

"I see ye've got them," he grinned.

"I'm not giving them to you until you give me the key," she said slowly.

Barbossa paused.

"In that case, I'll be goin' to discuss a matter with Sparrow, and I'll have that key fer ye soon."

Elizabeth nodded.

Barbossa stepped into Jack's cabin and she watched the door close.

Jack watched him very carefully as he came into the room.

"Come to get the key, mate?" he said.

Barbossa smirked. "So you know, then."

Jack shrugged. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."

"Yes, I think we've established that," said Barbossa impatiently. "I'd be wanting the key now." He held out his hand for it, grinning. In truth, though, he didn't know why he looked so happy. Sparrow would never give it over without a fight…

Jack reached into his pocket, pulled out a small metal object, and handed it to Barbossa without a fuss.

Barbossa blinked, then rolled his eyes and shook his head at Jack.

"Not _this_ key, the Dead Man's Chest key, ye blithering idiot!"

Jack frowned in mock-surprise. "Oh, right. Ye mean _that_ key."

"Aye, I'd be wantin' _that_ key."

"Why do they always mean _that_ key?" pondered Jack.

"Just hand it over."

Jack took out the key to the Chest. "_This _key?"

"Aye, _that_ key."

Upon hearing the words '_that_ key', Jack held up the other key. "Ye mean _this_ key? I just gave it to ye!"

Barbossa gritted his teeth. "Nay, _that_ key. The other one!"

"This _is_ the other one," said Jack, handing Barbossa the wrong key again.

"The… _other _other one!"

"Ah, ye mean _this_ one," said Jack, taking the wrong key from Barbossa and holding up the Chest key.

"Aye, that one," said Barbossa, reaching out for it.  
"Oh _that_ one," said Jack, and took out the other one.

"The one ye were just holding!" barked Barbossa.

"_Oh_," said Jack, and held the Chest key before Barbossa once again. "You know, it would be _immensely_ helpful if ye'd be more specific, mate."

Barbossa reached for the Chest key, rolling his eyes again. _Stupid Sparrow, hoping I'd give up._

Jack stepped back a little, moving the key away from Barbossa.

"Don't give it to her right now," he said.

"What?"

"Give it to her later," he said. "Don't tell her where ye got it."

Barbossa considered it.

"I'll give it to ye if ye promise that," said Jack.

"Agreed," said Barbossa, and snatched the key away. He stowed it safely in his coat pocket and swept out the room.

Elizabeth saw him come out and held the charts tighter. He nodded at her by way of greeting and swung back over aboard the _Pearl_.

_Interesting. _She stood up and started to walk back to her cabin when Jack's door burst open and he bumped into her.

"Oh—" she said awkwardly. "Sorry."

"Never mind, dearie," he said. "Why do ye still have the charts?"

He had caught her by surprise. "What?"

"I thought Barbossa wanted them."

"What? How do you—" she could feel her cheeks burning. _He knew…? He knew?! _

"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, luv," he said. "So, he hasn't given ye what ye wanted from him?"

"I—no," she said, slightly confused.

Jack nodded. "That's quite interesting," he said. "But for certain he hasn't given me what _I _want from 'im and I haven't given 'im what _he_ wants yet."

"Jack—" said Elizabeth. "I… I can't believe you're actually going to do this. I mean… don't you want anything from me? Are you going to do it for nothing?"

"Not for nothing," he said. "For you."

Elizabeth froze. "I… Thank you... Jack, I really am sorry."

Jack shrugged. "Lizzie, dear, you said you'd do _anything_."

"What?" she responded automatically, and suddenly remembered…

_"Please, I'll do anything…" _

_Oh God, I'd forgotten that! And knowing him, 'anything' would really be _anything

She desperately _wanted_ him to know that she _had_ promised anything, that she would keep that

promise, but she had made another promise too, to Will…

"Did I really?" she said.

"Don't pretend, darling," whispered Jack, and pulled her closer. She felt her lips burn as his touched them, as they kissed ardently, feverishly, lovingly. She dropped the charts. Her mouth was on fire, but this fire wasn't destructive—it was beautiful and warm, a fire of passion, desire. Her mind was still telling her to stop, but she kissed him back, because she so longed to do so, and she didn't want to deny herself the pleasure...

It was like being stabbed as she forced herself to push him away.

"Stop, don't," she whispered. "Don't. I can't, I can't."

He ignored her and pulled her toward him again, lips crashing against hers, his hand in her hair, and once again she let herself be kissed, moving a little so that Jack could move his other hand up her leg and then wrap his arm around her waist.

And again she forced herself to stop, draw away, break the kiss.

"I can't," she gasped. "I can't."

He caressed her smooth face with his roughened fingers, his eyes dark and unfathomable, and she sighed, her lips curving into a tiny smile.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you," she whispered. "I wish so much I could just stop waiting..."

"Well," said Jack cheerfully, still stroking her skin, "Now that we have that established, why don't we follow the merry plan Captain Jack Sparrow proposes? Why don't we just forget about... what needs to be forgotten and sail away, aye? What say you do that?"

"Jack!" exclaimed Elizabeth angrily, breaking away from his touch. "Don't say that! Don't you dare! Have you no thought for Will?!"

She picked up the charts, smoothed her shirt, and stormed down the stairs to her cabin, leaving two last words for him.

"You're despicable."

* * *

_"You're despicable." _

The first two words she'd said to him.

The last two words she'd said to him.

Had it been cruel? She did love him, she did care about him, and she did not want to hurt him. But what else could she do? There was no other way to convince him to stop.

No other way to convince herself.


	17. Chapter 17

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own PotC.

A/N: Thank you for all the great reviews! And now... well, I'm sure you'll all be happy about the entrance of a certain character... ;)

* * *

_Elizabeth. Elizabeth. Elizabeth_

All he could think about was her. Her name on her lips when they'd met.

_"My name's Elizabeth Swann."_

_He gasped for air, staring up at her. And he knew that at that moment, and every day after that, she would be all that existed, she would be the entire world, she would be the only person who mattered to him._

_"Will—Will Turner."_

_"I'm watching over you, Will."_

Her honey cascading hair, the light that the sun created on it…

Her gorgeous hazel eyes…

Her smooth skin, made golden by days in the Caribbean sun…

Her delicate hands…

_She flinched at his touch._

_"Blacksmith's hands," he explained, embarrassed. "They're rough."_

_"No," she said quickly. "I mean, yes—but—"_

_She paused and for a moment they stared at each other's eyes._

_"But don't stop," she whispered._

And her voluptuous lips, the most perfect shade of red…

All their kisses…

Ten years could pass quickly, couldn't it? It had been several months already.

Several months of agony, pain, without her in his life, because still she took up all of his mind, his heart.

He watched the sunrise, watched the glow on the water. That island she was on… he remembered the cliffs and mountains on the east side. Elizabeth was on the west side, and the sunrise would be impossible to see; all she had was the sunset, every one reminding her of the one she'd watched when the flash of green light had taken him away. Was it fair? Was it fair that he was roaming about to see every new day begin, while she could only stand on the beach watching every day end?

_She must be thinking of me. She must be missing me as much as I miss her. _

_

* * *

_

The days passed monotonously with Elizabeth avoiding Jack at all costs.

Now she sat in the crow's nest watching the horizon, occasionally glancing down at the _Black Pearl _next to the _Queen _and wondered when Barbossa would give her the key. So far there'd been no sign of anything, let alone the _Dutchman_. _What if I never really find him after all? _No, she had to. She pictured him in her head, whwat he would say when he saw her, how happy she would be to see him. She would be whole again, it would be like her world would be reconstructed, wounds healed, pain erased... but all she could picture was Jack. His dreadlocks, his wind-roughened hands, his smirking smile, his chocolate-brown eyes.

_Won't I ever be free? Does anyone really expect I can wait ten years?_

Perhaps there was a law... a limit... perhaps just as Will couldn't set food on land, she couldn't set foot on the _Flying Dutchman..._

_But I _have _to..._

And for a moment, one uplifting, golden moment, she thought, _No. I could just stay with Jack. I love him. I could be with him and forget everything else. I _could_. I 'd be the happiest person in the world..._

_NO. No, I couldn't. I can't do that to Will. I will remain loyal to him. And I will find the _Dutchman_ here. I _will. _He has to be here. He will be here. I will fin dhim. And..._

She'd fallen out of love with Will (she cringed desperately from the thought)... couldn't she fall out of love with Jack just as easily?

_

* * *

_"Lizzie," said Jack quietly as Elizabeth stepped down from the crow's nest. 

"It's Elizabeth," she said instinctively. She wanted to fling herself into his arms, but stopped herself.

"Elizabeth," said Jack obligingly. "Considering that we've been sailing for several days, and during the course of several days should have found the _Dutchman_, and we haven't found the _Dutchman_, it is my humblest opinion that in the course of several days that should follow it would be nigh unlikely for us to find the _Dutchman_, therefore it would be of utmost importance if we not waste several more days in the unsuccessful finding of the _Dutchman _that cannot be found."

Elizabeth stared at him, seeing through his convoluted sentence to his meaning in a moment.

_No... we can find it! It has to be here at World's End somewhere... it has to be here, it has to be found. We can't stop, we can't turn back now! And what does he want to do with the following 'several days'? And..._

She couldn't think, couldn't comprehend her own thoughts anymore. She'd been living for this, she had to see Will. There was nothing else that she needed more than this now, she thought, nothing. And she'd sworn to herself she'd find him, just hours ago!

"Are you saying..." she whispered, just to be sure,"that he's not here...?"

_Say 'no', please say 'no', please _please_ say 'no'!_

"Barbossa and I have given the matter careful consideration," said Jack. "And--"

"No!" shouted Elizabeth. "_No_! No, it's not true! He's here, he's here, he has to be--he can't be gone. He's here in this sea, we _can_ find him! Please, tell me he's here, tell me he's not unreachable. Tell me that's not true! Tell me!"

Jack hadn't been expecting that reaction.

"Tell me it's not true," she sobbed softly," Please tell me... Tell me it's not true, tell me it's not true!"

" 'M sorry, luv," said Jack quietly.

Elizabeth let out an anguished cry and flung herself mindlessly at Jack, tearing at his belt, searching for the compass that he had left in his cabin.

"No, he's _here_!" she cried, her voice loud now, and passionate, "He's _here_. He _is_, we _can_ find him! Please don't give up on it, I've been waiting, I've been hoping this entire time! He can't be somewhere else, he has to be here!"

"Lizzie," said Jack, pulling her back as she ran to the side of the ship, knowing she meant to dive, knowing she really would swim away, searching forever.

"No, I don't want to hear any more!"

"There's no more," muttered Jack, still holding her back as she struggled stubbornly, "Lizzie, dearie."

"No, no! I won't abandon it! You said you'd take me to him! Take me to him, you _promised_!"

And she collapsed on him in broken sobs. He stroked her hair comfortingly, wondering how many times now her world had failed her, and at that moment he knew. He knew that _this _was love, this was love for Will, because he could feel his heart breaking for her and for this agony that he'd given her. He could feel it physically as well, a pain in his chest that she was truly willing to throw away everything for Will, but nevertheless he held her still and continued to stroke her and when he felt she'd calmed down a little he kissed her gently, on her cheeks, on her neck, and very cautiously on her lips.

She lifted her head to look at him, her face covered by a mask of silver tears.

"You were right," she whispered.

"What?"

"You were right," she repeated. "He really could be roaming anywhere he'd like."

"Aye, I was," whispered Jack distractedly. _Filthy liar, you'll be hurtin' her more! _"Trust me, darling, I'm always right."

* * *

Will walked around the deck restlessly, his recent thoughts of Elizabeth distracting him.

He took out the special telescope he'd found aboard the _Dutchman. _It could see much further than a normal one, Bootstrap Bill had told him. It could see to a distance that was still many days away.

It was not his watch and he had nothing to do on deck, so, to see if there was anything of interest, he raised the telescope to his eye and scanned the horizon.

Nothing at first. And then, suddenly...

Two ships approaching? At the end of the world?


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Thank you for all the amazing reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own PotC.

* * *

Elizabeth swayed a little in Jack's arms and sighed painfully. 

"I was so sure he'd be here," she whispered. "It's just a lost cause now."

"Ye've still got Captain Jack Sparrow, aye?" said Jack in an attempt to be cheerful. "How can ye pass that up?"

Elizabeth shook her head, "I know I can't. And yet I _have_ to… It's too confusing. I should just leave and go back to Shipwreck Island,:

"Oi," said Jack. "Let us not think such thoughts, shall we? Let us not think such displeasing thoughts, as we already have a displeasing matter on our hands."

There was a silence as she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. _What have ye _done _t'her! She's always been in love with the whelp, _he thought bitterly. _Ye've ruined her. _

Suddenly, she stood up straight and said, "Do you _want_ me to please you?"

Jack frowned and then said, with a flicker of a smirk, "Do try, dearie."

"No," said Elizabeth seriously. "Really. Do you want me to please you?"

"Aye, of course, darling," he said, wondering what had gotten into her, "I can't imagine why not."

She smiled faintly and with a strong unexpected movement yanked Jack towards her by his torn collar, enveloped her arms around his neck, and leaned in. Her lips crashed against his hungrily, and for him to not kiss her back was like fighting the tide. They moved back until they hit Jack's cabin door and stood there, their bodies pressed firmly against each other, lips attached together.

Elizabeth broke away, gasping for breath.

"Pleasing indeed, Lizzie," said Jack. "Impressive."

She did not speak, but grabbed hold of him again and pulled him into a frenzied, feverish kiss again. She felt like a thousand things in the world—like she was soaring in the sky, like she was swimming with the current of and endless sea, like she was running away from something through an emerald forest, never pausing to catch her breath and never getting caught… it felt like the splash of sunshine on her face, fresh berries straight from the bush, fire dancing at her heels, just out of reach, and she couldn't let go of it, that exhilaration, that moment of wonderful thrill she always felt while falling…

"I love you," she whispered passionately, and sank into a kiss again. She couldn't stop, even though her mind kept telling her she shouldn't. He was like a poison, an addicting poison that she couldn't not have. And though she knew he could break her heart more, she wanted him. She _wanted_ him to poison her, she wanted his smile, his voice, everything. And Will hadn't been found where she trusted she'd find him. And here was Jack. Jack, with whom she was madly in love. And she didn't stop, because she knew he could hurt her, but not having him at all hurt beyond anything in the world.

So when they finally broke apart she was breathless but fully satisfied, and Jack was smiling smugly.

"Infinitely pleasing," said Jack. "How are _you_ feeling?"

"Quite pleased myself, actually," she said. "And tired. After…" _The tears._

"Aye," said Jack. He unlocked his cabin door and led her inside, or, more accurately, lifted her in his arms and carried her inside, laying her on his bed. She smiled softly and closed her eyes.

Jack sat down in a chair and stared at her. She was lying on the very side of the bed, one agile hand hanging over the edge, her honey waves of hair tumbling down and almost reaching the floor. A shaft of moonlight slanted in from the windows, illuminating her high cheekbones, delicate eyelashes, her lips the color of a spring blossom, curved slightly.

He leaned forward, unable to resist stroking the curve of her chin gently.

She opened her eyes.

"Yes?" she asked sweetly.

"Ye can't look at treasure and not reach out to touch it," said Jack, grinning.

"Treasure? I'm no more than jewels and coins?" teased Elizabeth.

"Not all treasure is silver and gold," whispered Jack. _How ironic_, he thought with an inward chuckle. _First I tell the whelp, now I tell her. Referring to her both times. _

She smirked and closed her eyes again, heart beating wildly. It was such an amazing feeling to love and be loved! It felt so new to her, like she had never loved W—she shook thoughts of him from her mind. She didn't want to be troubled by those thoughts, if only for one night. _One night_, she promised herself. _Just one. _

A while later she opened her eyes again to find Jack still staring at her.

"Do you mind?" she asked. "It's… distracting..."

Jack looked at her smugly. "Ah. Well then, I'll not trouble ye then, luv."

He watched as she closed her eyes, then left the cabin and went to take the helm from Gibbs.

_Victory, now, _he thought. _While any moment the _Dutchman _could be around with the bloody whelp aboard. And once he's here he'll never stop bloody kissing Lizzie. I probably should've just not told her anything, let them be together and bloody left. Can't be that difficult; she's only another strumpet. _

No. She wasn't. She was _Lizzie._

And he'd bloody lied to her. Again.

She was going to hate him for eternity when she found out.

_If_, he thought stubbornly. _If. _

But she was bound to.

* * *

In the cabin, Elizabeth opened her eyes yet again and let out a long breath with an ecstatic smile. She could still feel his lips, his arms, and she relived it, wanting to never forget.

* * *

He had seen crowds of the dead at World's End, but never entire ships. Ships never came, they couldn't die; the people always arrived in boats. 

"Father," said Will cautiously.

"Aye?" Bootstrap Bill approached.

"What can you see through this telescope…?" Will handed his father the telescope and waited as Bootstrap lifted it to his eye. He lowered it, frowning.

"Do you see anything?"

"Aye, I do," said Bootstrap. "Something very peculiar."

"Two ships?"

Bootstrap looked at his son, nodding.

"What do you think it means?" asked Will.

"I suppose it means that there are two ships at the end of the world,"" said Bootstrap.

"But…"

"And that they sailed here, most likely," his father added.

"Sailed here? But they have to have the charts, and—" He looked up. "_Barbossa_? What would he be doing here…?"

He looked through the telescope again. One ship looked perfectly normal. The other… he squinted and tried to figure out what looked so different about it. And suddenly—

"Of course," breathed Will. "Black sails. It's the _Black Pearl_…"

"The _Pearl_, indeed," said Bootstrap, taking another look through the telescope.

"But the _Pearl_ belongs to Jack Sparrow," said Will. "And Barbossa has the charts…"

"They're sailing together, either that or something strange happened…"

Will rubbed his forehead, confused.

"I miss Elizabeth," he muttered in a depressed tone, and all of a sudden, excitedly, "Father!"

Bootstrap turned.

"Whatever Jack, and Barbossa, are doing here, we can help them! And in return, in return for our help they can do something—they can—they can deliver something from me to Elizabeth! Like, say, a letter!"

"Not a bad idea, son," agreed Bootstrap appraisingly. "We'll be seeing them in about two days, I'll wager."

"That's great!" exclaimed Will. "I can write to her, and I'll try to do something so they'll deliver a reply from her as well."

He rushed to his cabin to look for ink and paper, overjoyed by the two ships that would soon be sailing up to the _Dutchman_.

* * *

While Elizabeth lay in bed dreaming of ships, a pirate captain, and kisses, Jack stared toward the horizon wondering what he would do if the _Ducthman_ arrived. For one he'd have to kill Barbossa for guaranteeing that they had been sailing _away_ from the _Dutchman_, and then he'd have to _really _sail away from the _Dutchman_, and… make sure Lizzie wasn't on deck for a while. And make sure Will did not see Lizzie. 

He sighed. It was complicated, and he hoped Barbossa would postpone giving Elizabeth the key for a while so she wouldn't be reminded… and of course, the perpetual watch on Barbossa that he needed to keep, to make sure he did not do anything extremely _stupid. _


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Thank you for all the amazing reviews! And Merry Christmas, dear readers!

And please… do not ask me where Will gets his cheesy-letter-writing skills… ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own PotC.

* * *

Will sat down at his desk in the captain's quarters of the _Flying Dutchman _with a blank sheet of paper and a sharpened quill pen. He stared at the crisp whiteness of the paper, wondering how he should start his letter. There were so much he wanted to tell her, and yet somehow, he couldn't seem to write it down...

_What about _Dear Elizabeth, _or _Dearest Elizabeth

He shook his head to himself. They both sounded too formal, not intimate enough for his _wife_.

_Elizabeth, dear_?

But now it seemed too casual, as if he was starting an everyday conversation, and this was a letter in which he had to write everything he wanted to say to her, _everything_, and he probably wouldn't have the chance to deliver something like this for years and years...

_My dear wife _sounded slightly disparaging…

He dipped the quill in an inkwell and wrote down carefully, _My darling. _

And stopped. It was sweet, yes, but he didn't want it to sound simply 'sweet,' like a childish love letter.

Simply _Elizabeth_?

Too solemn, as if he were telling her something she wouldn't want to hear, and surely she would want a letter from him… He wished he had a special name to call her, as many couples did. A nickname, something sweet meant just for her. He thought about it, her name. He had thought her name in his head for so long, since that day when fate brought him to her. _Elizabeth. _What about 'Lizzie?' It was a common name short for Elizabeth. But it didn't sound _right_, it didn't sound like something his dear Elizabeth would respond to.

He took a new sheet of paper and wrote, _My love. _

He looked at the words he had written, the shiny black ink glistening in the faint light. It still wasn't perfect, but it would have to do. He dipped the quill in ink again and started the actual letter.

_It has been complete torture without you, and I don't know how I will be able to live through the next nine years and several months. I hope you are well and this letter finds its way to your hands safely._

_I am thinking about you all the time. Sometimes I wish that I had helped you escape from the prison in Port Royal and we had run away, gone into hiding somewhere. Think about it, we would be _together _now, both of us living, and happy. And whole!—because you must know, Elizabeth, that you complete me, and my soul is broken in your absence. I can hardly bear it, the pain! Can you feel it too?_

_And sometimes I dream that you are with me aboard the _Dutchman. _Besides the obvious part of my life that is missing, it's not so bad, living on a ship. Father is very knowledgeable as a mariner and I am learning well enough to cope as captain. The sea is truly beautiful, and the night sky is stunning. In my dreams when you are here, we lie together on the bed in my cabin and stare up through the window at the sky, and we count the stars. In the daytime we take our meals together and we talk to each other, and it is the way I'd dreamed it when I was a blacksmith in Port Royal. And of course, we watch the sun setting every evening, always._

_The sunset is a wonderful sight indeed. Do you watch it every day as well? It never reminds me of anyone but you. I can see you before me when I see the sunset—your hands, your face, as beautiful as the glowing sunset. _

_I have much more to write, but it all pales in insignificance to what I have already said and what I will say now. _

_I do not live a second without you in my thoughts, without the relief that I have survived another second, without thinking that every second, I am another moment closer to one day with you. _

_Please be well, and I beg of you to wait, though I know it is terrifying. Please, my darling, my wife, do this for me. I love you. I loved you, I love you, and I will love you, always, and forever. _

_Will._

He heard a knock on his door as he was writing his name and knew it would be his father.

"Come in," he said and waited for the clicking sound the turning of the handle made.

"Jus' wanted to see how you were doing," said Bootstrap, smiling slightly.

"I just finished," said Will, turning a little and even half-standing to block the sheet of paper. He didn't want his father to see it; it was the one thing he wanted to keep private.

"Ah," said Bootstrap, nodding. Will smiled awkwardly.

"The wind's…" Bootstrap began hesitantly, "It's… driven us further from the two ships." He watched with concern as Will's expression changed.

"Only a few days," he reassured his son quickly. "Nothing at all."

"Yes, of course," said Will distractedly. "Of course."

Bootstrap shot him a worried look before exiting the cabin, and Will sat back down, sighing.

_Only a few days. _

A few days would do no harm. A few days couldn't change anything.

* * *

Elizabeth woke to faint sunlight with a smile playing on her lips. She could still feel the passion of last night's kisses. It had been the most amazing, magical night she'd ever had, she thought, just as Jack walked in.

And how strange that she was at a point like this in her life! She had never, _not once_, imagined before that she would be on a pirate ship… Well, she had dreamed of that before, but here she was, living with pirates… And in _love_ with Captain Jack Sparrow. It seemed so unreal, like a dream, because at the moment she had everything she wanted, everything she could ever want, right before her eyes.

She leapt out of Jack's bed and into his arms, her lips crashing onto his in a fervent kiss.

"I don't want to forget this," she whispered, not caring what she said, as long as he _knew_ that she loved him, that he was the world to her. She kissed him again, sinking into the bliss of it.

"I…" she continued, "I want to go back…"

Jack took a step back and frowned at her.

"I mean—" her brow furrowed a bit and her face cleared again, but he could see the confusion in her eyes. "I don't want to stay here anymore. It's… it just reminds me of things… that I don't want to think about."

"And what may those be, dearie?" Jack said, raising his eyebrows, while telling himself she was still fragile.

"Jack," whispered Elizabeth, stepping toward him, holding onto him by the lapels of his coat, staring at him.

"Jack, I want to sail with _you_," she said. "I feel wicked—terrible that I want to abandon—the _Dutchman_—" she could not bring herself to say his name "—but I _do. _I want to help you get the _Black Pearl_ back from Barbossa, and I want to be on that ship with you, for the rest of my life. And—and I _will_, if… if you let me, I _will._"

Jack stared, excitement rushing through his body, while he already started planning, to sneak on board the _Pearl_, perhaps kill Barbossa once and for all, take back _his_ ship and take Lizzie away with him…

"Even if…" Elizabeth said, in a voice higher than normal, "Even if I'm still married to him. I have to have this. I need it. This is my _life_. This is…"

"This is _us_, luv," Jack finished, and brought his lips to her cheeks, her forehead, her lips.

"Yes," she said. "It can't be too hard to forget… even if I feel so terrible, it can't be too hard to run away from it… I never thought I'd be such a coward… but—"

"Pirate," whispered Jack, and continued kissing her, now bringing his lips down her neck.

"Yes," she said again. "Pirates… run… away…" She kissed him fiercely on the lips, knowing that she lived for this—Jack Sparrow, his love, the fire burning in her mouth.

"Won't take long to get me _Pearl_," said Jack. "Then we turn 'er upside down, and we, Lizzie—you and I—will be sailing the seven seas. Won't be more than a few days. Aye? What say you?"

_Only a few days. To freedom. _

"Of course," she said quietly, and somehow, surprisingly, running away was the most wonderful feeling in the world.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Thank you for the reviews, thank you for waiting and being here to read this after so long!!

Disclaimer: PotC belongs to Disney.

* * *

"So what must be done is to trick bloody Barbossa onto this ship, shut him in the brig, slip onto the _Pearl_ and be off to visit the Fountain of Youth!" Jack grinned expectantly at Gibbs, arms wide open dramatically, waiting for a reaction.

Master Gibbs's jaw dropped for a moment, then he shut his mouth and stared.

"Oi," said Jack, gesturing vaguely, "I'm captain. I talk, you listen, you respond. Savvy?"

"Aye, captain!" said Gibbs hastily. "We'll get the _Pearl_ back."

"He has the key," said Elizabeth suddenly, leaning on the railing and speaking for the first time. Jack and Gibbs turned to her.

"What?" asked Jack, knowing exactly what she meant. _She remembered it. _

"The key, to the Chest."

Jack pretended to look surprised. "Ah! Yes, that's very important, dearie."

"I have to get it back," said Elizabeth quietly. "I have to keep it safe for him. I… I don't want to break too many promises."

Jack saw her close her eyes for a moment, and her expression changed to an image of sharp clear pain at this betrayal. He wanted to reach out and hold her, stroke the line of her always-defiantly-set jaw, but he resisted, knowing his touch only brought back more doubt, more hurt. _Will Barbossa tell her…? _The question rang in his mind, taunting him.

All of a sudden he felt a terribly wave of guilt for having lied to her. She'd been crushed, and he had lied, and then told her what she wanted to hear...

Elizabeth continued, voice lower, "And I have the charts."

Jack frowned, thinking, as Elizabeth ran a hand through her hair in confusion about all the events that had passed through her life since the last day she saw Will. Already she had begun to question her decision to run. How had it all lead to this, when all she wanted was to come see Will? It had happened so fast--she could still remember standing desperately before Jack in a Tortuga tavern, pleading him to help her. She could remember what she had felt--loneliness, cold, longing... And he had been right there...! Every time she turned from her troubles he was there and she had crashed into his arms, seeking company, seeking something warm to hold on to... And now she was in love with him, not as she had loved Will--she loved Jack with all the fire and passion in the world, and they were running away, to be together... forever...? _What if it's not the right choice...? _

But nevertheless she had to make one, and by the looks of it had taken her first step already. Elizabeth suggested haltingly, "We could just leave, if--if you want to. I don't have to..."

Jack looked at her in surprise. She was willing to sacrifice a little more of what she had left of feeling like she had kept some of her promise? Elizabeth had her eyes fixed on him, not bother to hide anything this time as emotions flashed across her face—excitement, hesitation, guilt, desire, confusion… And he knew—they _did _love each other, but she had to have one or the other. Every day she was dying inside—every day that she didn't see Will and couldn't have Jack, another part of her faded away, another part that was tired of fighting, exhausted from waiting, another part that gave up—and she wanted to live; she would give anything to live, and he could save her.

He felt a sudden rush of affection and said quickly, "Master Gibbs, I believe it would be wise to now bring our stolen excuse of a ship closer to the _Pearl _and see if Barbossa decides to come aboard."

"Aye, captain!" Gibbs ran off and shouted some orders.

"Lizzie, dearie," said Jack, leading her to his cabin, where he held her face in his hands and let her hair out from behind her ears so that it fell over his hands in waves of honey brown.

"Jack," whispered Elizabeth, bringing her face up to his, closing her eyes, and sinking into a deep intoxicating kiss. She fell onto the bed, their lips still sealed together, and when she sat up, gasping for breath, her eyes shone with exhilaration.

"Lizzie," said Jack, staring at her eyes, two brown and gold jewels, "We shall get what you want, whatever you want, before we leave. I promise."

Elizabeth smiled softly, heart fluttering.

"I already have what I want," she said into his ear, and kissed him again. It was like flying, a rush, a thrill, a dream. There was no past or future as they stood there, arms entwined around each other, lips together.

Elizabeth broke away, grinning, and said, "We should be ready for him when he comes aboard."

"Aye," said Jack, smirking, "Time for a bit of pirating, Lizzie."

They went on deck and found that indeed, Barbossa had come aboard. The two ships' sides nearly touched.

"Well," said Jack, "We have a visitor. What are ye doing here, Hector?"

"I thought I might investigate the meaning of ye nearly scraping the side of _your _ship," replied Barbossa with a sneer, before seeing Elizabeth. "Ah, Mrs. Turner."

Elizabeth regarded him with a cool nod, showing him the roll of charts that had traveled the world. "I have the charts. I expect that you've honored your side of the bargain?"

"I have," said Barbossa, pulling out the key and holding it before Elizabeth, who stared at it in amazement. He really did have it--the dark metal swung before her eyes.

"Give it to me," said Elizabeth commandingly.

"The charts?" prompted Barbossa.

"Give the key to me first," demanded Elizabeth, glaring at him as she started to panic. _Bloody Barbossa, of course he'd want the charts first. _She tried to think of a way to hand over the key, but there were no other choices.

"Technically those _are_ my charts," said Barbossa. "And this _is _your key."

Elizabeth hesitated, made a lunge for the key unsuccessfully, and finally dropped the charts in Barbossa's hand. Barbossa grinned and handed her the key. She closed her hand around the cold metal with relief and slipped it into her pocket. It was safe now, the Chest and the key, and she would keep it from any more harm.

Jack had watched the exchange with some wild thoughts of how to get the charts back, and finally said loudly, "Take 'im to the brig."

Barbossa turned to Jack in furious surprise and cocked his pistol at him.

"So, it will be betrayal, eh?"

Jack shrugged. "Pirate." Two crew members had already grabbed Barbossa, knocking the pistol from his hand, and proceeded to drag him below.

"The charts," said Elizabeth frantically. She tore after them and descended the last step into the brig just as the lock clicked on Barbossa's cell. The crew members were walking towards the stairs. Elizabeth snatched the keys from one of them and stood in front of Barbossa, thinking quickly.

"Give me the charts now," she ordered.

"So ye're to betray me as well?" asked Barbossa, smirking.

"I'm offering help," said Elizabeth with the slightest hint of derision in her voice. "You can give me the charts, and I can release you." She shook the keys in her hand. "What do you say?"

Barbossa rolled his eyes and stood up.

"All right, then, but I _will _be gettin' these back one day."

Elizabeth smirked lightly and unlocked the door. She opened it, and Barbossa stepped out and gave her the charts, holding on to the other end. Elizabeth pulled it out of his grasp and ran up the stairs. She passed Gibbs on her way to her cabin and shoved the keys into his hand.

"Jack's on the _Pearl_!" he called.

Elizabeth paused. "What?"

"He said to make sure you get there as well before I go aboard."

"Right," said Elizabeth. "I've got to get the Chest first."

Her cabin was cool and dim, and she suddenly realized that she hadn't been in it for days. She had been sleeping in Jack's bed, although he had never lain on it with her…

She grabbed the trunk that she had brought with her and placed the Chest safely inside. She slit her knife down the seam of one of the extra pieces of clothing she had brought and slipped the long strip of fabric through key ring, and tied it around her neck. It was heavy, but she forced herself to keep it there, and with the trunk in her hand she rushed out on deck.

Gibbs had found a rope for her already, and Jack was shouting her name from the deck of the _Pearl_. He had already managed to move it so that it wasn't as close to the _Queen _anymore. Elizabeth took the rope in her right hand, holding tightly to her trunk with her left. She climbed unsteadily onto the railing, and for a moment she wanted to look back at the deck behind her, at what she would be leaving, but instead she looked ahead, at the _Pearl_, at Jack, at freedom. She took a deep breath.

_This is the choice, then. _

And she slid off the railing.

A rush of wind hit her face. It seemed to be happening slower than it should. She swung forward, her body instinctively closing in on the rope to make up for the hand carrying the trunk.

_No turning back now. _

The main mast of the _Pearl _was appearing larger, black sails billowing. She let go of the rope and looked down, just a fraction of a second too late.

The waves looked like small rolling hills, rushing up to meet her. The water was cold against her skin, and the trunk was heavy, dragging her down.


End file.
